South Korean military said North Korea had launched an unidentified projectile on Tuesday toward the Sea of Japan. "North Korea fires an unidentified projectile towards East Sea," South Korea's military said.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapons were fired from a northern inland area and were suspected to be short-range ballistic missiles. They said the information was shared with its allies the US and Japan.
South Korea's acting president Choi Sang-mok said Seoul would sternly respond to the provocation, adding that the new launch was a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.
This launch comes just a week after North Korea fired a new hypersonic missile system, its first for the year. It is designed to attack remote targets in the Pacific ocean.
It came while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting South Korea, and was the first since Donald Trump's reelection to office.
North Korea's rivalry with the US
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants to build his nuclear weapon collection to counter rivals South Korea and the US.
Kim's alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised further concerns in the US about its nuclear capabilities.
In November, North Korea had tested its most advanced solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Pyongyang is also believed to be helping Moscow in the Ukraine war.
Kim has criticized Biden's military alliance with South Korea and Japan as a "nuclear military bloc for aggression."
Kim has not made any comments about Trump's return to office, whom he met three times during his previous tenure.
Experts say it is unlikely that the two sides will quickly resume diplomacy.
