South Korean and Japanese sources said North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile from its eastern coast on Tuesday morning.
The missile firing was carried out at around 10 a.m. local time near the port city of Sinpo, Hamgyong province, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Two ballistic missiles were fired during Tuesday's launch, Japan's Deputy Secretary General Yoshihiko Isozaki said, but South Korea's military only acknowledged one projectile.
The launch came after U.S. and South Korean envoys met in Washington Monday to discuss the nuclear stalemate with North Korea. On Tuesday, spy chiefs from the U.S., Japan, and South Korea were said to be meeting in Seoul.
The launch would be North Korea's latest weapons test, as the country has continued to expand its arsenal despite international restrictions imposed over its nuclear and missile programs.
The government is "assuming that it was an SLBM test," South Korean publication Joongang Ilbo reported, citing an unnamed military source.
In a statement, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said their military is closely watching the situation and keeping a readiness posture in close cooperation with the U.S. to prepare for probable subsequent launches."
Two ballistic missiles were identified, said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who also said it was "regrettable" that North Korea has undertaken a series of missile tests in recent weeks.
Kishida canceled campaign appearances in northern Japan, and the deputy chief cabinet secretary said the prime minister planned to return to Tokyo to deal with the missile crisis.
The unification ministry of South Korea, which handles contacts with the North, said Tuesday that daily routine liaison calls with the North went as usual, and that it had no comment on the missile launch.
Despite struggling economically as a result of a self-imposed lockdown, North Korea has continued to develop missiles at rapid speed and increased its nuclear program, Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said.
Analysts believe that a spate of recent launches, as well as the unveiling last week of an unprecedented military parade in Pyongyang, indicate that North Korea is restarting military and foreign activities after nearly two years of turning inward in the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic.
