South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) says North Korea fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile(IRBM) toward the East Sea on Sunday.

A JCS official said the military detected the launch from the North’s capital city of Pyongyang around 2:55 p.m. Sunday, saying the projectile is presumed to be an IRBM. 

The official said the military is analyzing details of the projectile based on close cooperation with the U.S. and Japan, adding that Seoul is maintaining full readiness while sharing information with Washington and Tokyo. 

Japan’s defense ministry also announced that the North fired what appears to be a ballistic missile, saying the projectile seems to have fallen into waters off Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Sunday marks the first time for the reclusive state to engage in a ballistic missile provocation this year. The launch comes 27 days after the previous provocation on December 18 of last year.

North Korea had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile into the East Sea on the morning of December 18, or less than 12 hours after firing a short-range ballistic missile the previous night.