North Korea fires ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Friday towards the sea off its east coast, South Korea and Japan said, following missile launches in the past two weeks and after U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed invitation for talks with Pyongyang.



South Korea's military said the suspected short-range ballistic missile was launched from an area in North Korea's northwest region near the Chinese border, travelling a distance of about 700 km.



South Korean and U.S. surveillance systems detected preparations for the launch and tracked the projectile in flight, the military said. The information was shared with Japan, it said.



The Japanese government also said North Korea had fired what could be a ballistic missile, which it said likely fell outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone.



Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said there was no confirmed report of damage.



While visiting South Korea last week, Trump repeated his willingness to sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, raising expectations that the two could come to a last-minute agreement to meet.



No meeting took place, but Trump said he was willing to return to the region to meet Kim.