The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, fired at least one projectile towards its eastern waters, according to officials in South Korea.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Monday did not immediately say whether the weapon was ballistic or how far it flew.

The office of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said they had also detected the launch and described it as a suspected ballistic missile.

It came after South Korea's military on Friday flight-tested its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon, designed to fly at least five times the speed of sound and evade missile defence systems.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung described the test as an important step in strengthening its conventional defence capabilities.

The DPRK has been ramping up weapons testing as it seeks to expand its arsenal of nuclear-capable systems, including an October 3 test of what it described as a hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to evade missile defences in South Korea and Japan.

Pyongyang has also conducted other missile tests and live-fire drills and commissioned a new warship as leader Kim Jong-un continues to develop his nuclear weapons programme while rejecting US and South Korean offers to resume long-stalled diplomacy.

Tensions were further worsened after three South Korean soldiers were injured in land mine explosions last month near the heavily armed inter-Korean border.

The South’s military and the US-led United Nations Command concluded the blasts were caused by devices planted by DPRK, which has denied responsibility and ridiculed demands for an apology. (AP)



Edited by Tony Sabine