N Korea fires ballistic missile towards sea: S Korea

North Korea has fired a suspected long-range ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast, a day after Seoul reported the North was making preparations to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The launch, at a sharply raised angle, was from an area near the North's capital, Pyongyang, South Korea's Joint Chiefs said in a statement. It did not confirm whether the missile had dropped.

Japan's Coast Guard also said North Korea fired what could be a ballistic missile.

Thursday's launch was North Korea's first known ballistic test since September 18, when its leader Kim Jong-un supervised tests of a new type of ballistic missile and a "strategic" cruise missile apparently built to deliver nuclear warheads.

South Korea's Defense Intelligence Agency said it detected signs that North Korea would soon be ready to test launch an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to reach the US mainland, including the placement of a launch vehicle and a missile.

Since 2022, North Korea has sharply increased the pace of its weapons tests to expand its arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles targeting South Korea and the United States.

The launch also comes amid concerns about North Korea's reported troop dispatch to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving toward Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilising development.

South Korea said North Korea has sent more than 11,000 troops to Russia and that more than 3000 of them have been moved close to battlefields in Western Russia.

with AP