North Korea launches missile after South Korea demands apology for landmine explosion.

According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missile was launched at approximately 6:30 a.m. local time on October 3rd from the Wonsan area on North Korea's east coast and traveled over 700 kilometers. The JCS has not yet released information on the type of missile, its range, or altitude.

The South Korean military said it has stepped up surveillance to guard against the possibility of further missile launches by Pyongyang, while maintaining a state of readiness and sharing information with the United States and Japan .

This was North Korea's first ballistic missile launch since September 20, when it launched two short-range ballistic missiles from Wonsan toward the Sea of ​​Japan, with the two launches occurring hours apart.

The latest development comes amid heightened inter-Korean tensions following the September 21 landmine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the buffer zone separating the two Koreas since the 1953 armistice agreement.

The explosion injured three South Korean soldiers, two of whom were seriously wounded.

Seoul accused Pyongyang of planting landmines that caused the explosion and called it a "blatant violation" of the armistice agreement.

The U.S.-led United Nations Command also believes the explosion originated from a North Korean landmine placed on the South Korean side of the border.

The South Korean military subsequently demanded that Pyongyang issue a formal apology and cease its military fortifications along the border.

North Korea rejected the accusation. In a statement on September 30, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said Seoul had fabricated conclusions about the incident and warned Pyongyang would respond "without mercy" if South Korea took any action against North Korea.

On October 2nd, Kim Jong-un continued to assert that Pyongyang was not involved in the explosion, while also criticizing Seoul for demanding an apology. She also rejected South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong Young's proposal for dialogue to clarify the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).

Chung had previously stated that the demarcation line in some areas was becoming increasingly difficult to discern, and that this was a contributing factor to the explosion in the DMZ.

Despite harsh statements from Pyongyang, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has urged North Korea to return to dialogue and seek ways to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas.