North Korea fires ‘projectile’ as it insists on right to self-defence

The presumed short-range missile was fired from an inland area into waters off the east coast, according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff

Pyongyang is under multiple sets of international sanctions over its banned programmes to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles

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People watch a news broadcast showing file footage of a North Korean missile test. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:21am, 28 Sep 2021Updated: 4:56pm, 28 Sep 2021

Nuclear-armed North Korea fired a presumed short-range missile into the sea on Tuesday, the South’s military said, as Pyongyang’s UN ambassador insisted it had an undeniable right to test its weapons.

The projectile was fired from the northern province of Jagang into waters off the east coast, according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a Japanese defence ministry spokesman said it “appears to be a ballistic missile”.

Less than an hour later, Pyongyang’s United Nations ambassador Kim Song told the UN General Assembly in New York: “Nobody can deny the right to self-defence for the DPRK”, the North’s official name.

Kim Song, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations. Photo: Bloomberg

It is the latest in a series of mixed messages from Pyongyang, coming days after leader Kim Jong-un’s influential sister Kim Yo-jong, a key adviser to her brother, dangled the prospect of an inter-Korean summit.

But she insisted that “impartiality” and mutual respect would be required, calling for the South to “stop spouting an impudent remark”.