(LEAD) N. Korea fires at least 1 unidentified projectile: JCS

All News 07:34 September 28, 2021

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By Oh Seok-min

SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired at least one unidentified projectile into the East Sea on Tuesday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, just days after Pyongyang held out the prospect of an inter-Korean summit if the South drops "double standards."

No other details were immediately available, including whether the projectile was a ballistic missile banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions, how many were fired, where the launch took place and how far it flew.

The launch came three days after Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said that the North could declare a formal end to the Korean War as suggested by the South and even discuss the possibility of a summit on conditions that Seoul drops its double standards and hostile attitudes against it.

The North has long accused South Korea and the United States of double standards, claiming it makes no sense for them to denounce the North's missile launches and other weapons tests as banned "provocations" when they are free to conduct such tests.

Tuesday's launch could be designed to test whether the South would still brand it as a provocation.

North Korea is banned from all ballistic missile activities under the United Nations Security Council resolutions, though Pyongyang has claimed they are aimed at beefing up self-defense against threats posed by South Korea and the United States.

If the projectile is confirmed to be a ballistic missile, it would mark the third such launch so far this year, and the sixth known major weapons test if test-firings of cruise missiles are taken into account.

On Sept. 15, the North test-fired two short-range missiles, believed to be its version of the Iskander, into the East Sea, which came just days after launching a new type of cruise missile.

Denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea have stalled. The Biden government has said it is ready to hold talks with the North anywhere, at anytime, but the communist country has remained unresponsive to U.S. overtures.