North Korea has fired a ballistic missile over the sea off its east coast towards Japan, Japan's Defence Ministry and South Korea's military said.
Japan’s Defence Ministry says the suspected weapon has landed in the waters.
Yonhap news agency, citing South Korea's military, reported that North Korea fired an unidentified projectile off North Korea's east coast.
"Our military detected at around 6:00 am (2100 GMT) a ballistic missile launched by North Korea from the Wonsan area towards the East Sea," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message to reporters, referring to a body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
The missile flew more than 700 kilometres over the body of water, it said, adding that Seoul and Washington were analysing its specifications.
US-South Korea drills
The North Korean missile launch comes days before the start of joint US-South Korea drills.
The US-South Korea "Ulchi Freedom Shield" drills due on Monday will include 18,000 South Korean troops and counterparts from the US contingent of 28,500 in the country.
A spokesman said they will prepare soldiers for a potential fight against North Korean troops battle-hardened from deployment in Europe.
North Korean soldiers have "taken those lessons they learned there and brought them back to North Korea," said Colonel Ryan Donald, spokesman for the US and South Korean Combined Forces Command, on Monday.
"Our training accounts for that threat," he told reporters.
