North Korea on Friday fired a suspected ballistic missile toward its eastern waters, South Korea’s military said, as Pyongyang steps up its testing activity while talks with Washington and Seoul remain stalled.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile flew cross-country after being fired from an inland area around the western county of Taekwan.

It didn’t immediately release further flight details, including how far the weapon flew.

The joint chiefs said South Korea’s military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance against the possibility of additional North Korean launches and is sharing relevant information with the United States and Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters that the missile was believed to have landed in waters outside the country’s exclusive economic zone and likely didn’t cause any damage.

North Korea didn’t immediately confirm the launch.

North Korea has been accelerating the pace of its weapons testing in recent weeks, including the firing of purported hypersonic missiles and cruise missiles last month that it said expanded the capabilities of its nuclear-armed military.

South Korea’s military previously said it detected the North firing 10 rounds of artillery into its western waters on Monday as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth began a two-day visit to South Korea.

The joint chiefs also said the North fired the same number of rounds on Saturday afternoon, before a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and President Xi Jinping in Gyeongju. (AP)