The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Sunday that North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea.

The JCS said that it detected the launch from the Tongchang-ri area in North Pyongan Province on the North's west coast at 11:05 a.m. Sunday and added that the missile flew about 800 kilometers before falling into the waters of the East Sea.

Intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are working on analyzing the details of the launch, including the range, speed and altitude.

The JCS said that the military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches, maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States.

The latest missile provocation, the seventh ballistic missile launch this year, comes three days after the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, when the leaders of South Korea and Japan held summit talks in Tokyo.

Sunday's missile launch comes amid the ongoing Freedom Shield military exercises between South Korea and the United States.

North Korea test-fired what it claimed were two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine last Sunday, a day before the combined exercises kicked off, and also launched two short-range missiles on Tuesday.

[Photo : YONHAP News]