North Korea has fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from its east coast, South Korea's military says, pulling Japan's new prime minister off the campaign trail and overshadowing the opening of an arms fair in Seoul.
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Tuesday's launch, reported by officials in South Korea and Japan, came after US and South Korean envoys met in Washington to discuss the nuclear standoff with North Korea on Monday.
Spy chiefs from the United States, South Korea, and Japan were reported to be meeting in Seoul on Tuesday as well.
The North Korean launch would be the latest weapons test by the country, which has pressed ahead with military development in the face of international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons and missile programs.
The missile was launched about 10.17am local time from the sea in the vicinity of Sinpo, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, where North Korea keeps submarines as well as equipment for test firing SLBMs.
It was not immediately clear whether the missile was fired from a submarine or from a submersible test barge, as in most previous tests.
"Our military is closely monitoring the situation and maintaining readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States, to prepare for possible additional launches," JCS said in a statement.
South Korea's national security council held an emergency meeting and expressed "deep regret" over the test, urging the North to resume talks.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said two ballistic missiles had been detected, and it was "regrettable" North Korea had conducted a string of missile tests in recent weeks.
There was no immediate explanation from South Korea's JCS for the conflicting number of missiles detected.
Kishida cancelled scheduled campaign appearances in northern Japan, and the deputy chief cabinet secretary told reporters that Kishida was planning to return to Tokyo to deal with the missile situation.
The North displayed new Pukguksong-4 and Pukguksong-5 SLBMs during its military parades in October and January, respectively, and a previously unseen, smaller missile was spotted at last week's defence fair in Pyongyang.
The launch came as the intelligence chiefs of the US, South Korea, and Japan were due to meet in Seoul to discuss the standoff with North Korea, amid other issues, Yonhap news agency reported, citing a government source.
The US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, said that he would visit Seoul for talks this week.
"The US continues to reach out to Pyongyang to restart dialogue," Kim said after meeting with his South Korean counterpart in Washington on Monday.
"We harbour no hostile intent towards (North Korea), and we are open to meeting with them without preconditions."
Last month South Korea successfully tested an SLBM , becoming the first country without nuclear weapons to develop such a system.
As news of Tuesday's missile launch broke, representatives of hundreds of international companies and foreign militaries were gathered in Seoul for the opening ceremonies of the International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition (ADEX).
Australian Associated Press
