North Korea has rejected South Korean and Japanese assessments of the distance its latest intermediate-range missile traveled, asserting the weapon covered about 621 miles before landing in the East Sea. Pyongyang said the missile, launched on October 3, 2026, followed an unconventional trajectory that made tracking difficult for rival monitoring systems. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense had estimated the flight at 435 miles, while Japan’s Ministry of Defense reported 422 miles. Seoul maintained its original figures, stating its military had tracked the missile from launch to impact. Japan did not respond to a request for comment. Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, explained in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency that the missile’s “wave-like trajectory” included “skip points” that regional defense systems did not account for. South Korean officials countered that their forces had closely monitored the launch and accurately measured the missile’s path, emphasizing that the flight fell within detection and interception ranges of existing allied defense systems. The discrepancy mirrors earlier disagreements over missile ranges reported in September 2026, when South Korea estimated two launches traveled 280 and 373 miles respectively. North Korea later released imagery suggesting one test exceeded 560 miles. Pyongyang described the October 3 launch as part of a drill to evaluate a new weapons system, with leader Kim Jong Un praising its strategic offensive capabilities. The incident underscores ongoing tensions over missile testing transparency and technical interpretations of flight data.