North Korea fired a ballistic missile, South Korean military says

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Aug 12 towards the sea off the Korean peninsula's east coast, South Korean and Japanese authorities said, days ahead of major joint military exercises by Seoul and Washington long denounced by Pyongyang.



South Korea's and Japan's defence authorities said the missile flew around 700km, and they both issued statements condemning the action.



South Korea's Office of National Security convened an emergency meeting, expressing concern over North Korea’s continued ballistic missile launches following a previous launch on Aug 6.



It urged Pyongyang to halt provocations that violate United Nations Security Council resolutions.



South Korea's military said it was maintaining readiness to respond "overwhelmingly" to any provocation under its combined defence posture with the United States.



There was no immediate statement from Pyongyang on the launch.



The missile, which landed in the sea outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, reached a maximum altitude of about 90km, Japan's Defence Ministry said in a post on X.