N Korea launches ballistic missile off coast: S Korea
North Korea has launched a ballistic missile toward the North's eastern waters, South Korea's military says.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch was made on Monday morning but gave no further details, including how far the weapon travelled.
The launch came two days after South Korea, the US and Japan ended their new trilateral drills that North Korea calls a provocation.
The launch is the North's first weapons firing in five days.
Last Wednesday, North Korea launched what it called a multi-warhead missile in the first known launch of a developmental, advanced weapon meant to defeat US and South Korean missile defences.
North Korea said the launch was successful but South Korea dismissed the North's claim as deception to cover up a failed launch.
The South Korea-US-Japanese "Freedom Edge" drill drew a US aircraft carrier and destroyers, fighter jets and helicopters from the three countries.
The training involved missile defence, anti-submarine and maritime interdiction drills.
In recent weeks, North Korea has floated numerous rubbish-carrying balloons toward South Korea in what it has described as a tit-for-tat response to South Korean activists sending political leaflets via their own balloons.
