DPRK fires another ballistic missile toward eastern sea: South Korea, Japan

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile, Seoul's military has said, the latest launch from Pyongyang following a record-breaking testing blitz earlier this month.

Seoul's military said on Wednesday that it had "detected a short-range ballistic missile launched by North Korea into the East Sea from Sukchon, South Pyongan Province, at around 15:31", referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

"Strengthening surveillance and vigilance, the South Korean military maintains full preparedness while closely cooperating with the United States," it added.

The launch comes as the United States counted votes in the midterm elections for the House and Senate, which Seoul's spy agency had previously warned would be a possible moment for Kim Jong-un to conduct a long-expected nuclear test.

Japan also confirmed the launch, with the government tweeting that Pyongyang "has launched a suspected ballistic missile".

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Earlier this month, North Korea conducted a flurry of launches, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, which Seoul said appeared to have failed.

Pyongyang also fired a short-range ballistic missile that crossed the de facto maritime border and landed near the South's territorial waters for the first time since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

'A territorial invasion'

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said at the time that it was "effectively a territorial invasion".

Both launches were part of a Wednesday, November 2 barrage, when Pyongyang fired 23 missiles — more than it launched during the whole of 2017, the year of "fire and fury" when Kim traded barbs with then-US president Donald Trump on Twitter and in state media.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on September 25, which kicked off a spate of launches, including an intermediate-range ballistic missile which overflew Japan. Pyongyang later claimed these were "tactical nuclear drills".

November's flurry of launches came as hundreds of US and South Korean warplanes were participating in large-scale joint air drills, called Vigilant Storm, which Pyongyang has described as "aggressive and provocative".

Pyongyang ramped up missile launches in response to the drills. Such exercises have long provoked strong reactions from North Korea, which sees them as rehearsals for an invasion.

On Monday, the South's military kicked off its four-day computer-simulated Taegeuk drills.

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