North Korea fires ballistic missile off east coast, Seoul says

​North Korea launched a ballistic ‌missile off ​its eastern coast on Sunday, its second test in roughly a week and days after Pyongyang ‌accused the US of driving tensions on the Korean Peninsula through a series of military drills.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the test firing ‌from the Wonsan area around 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), identifying the weapon as ‌a ballistic missile. Japan's defence ministry also said it appeared to be a ballistic missile. Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the projectile had come down outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.

South ⁠Korea's National ​Security Council ⁠condemned the short-range missile launch, which follows a test on September 12. The council urged Pyongyang ⁠to immediately cease missile activity, warning that the test directly violated UN Security Council resolutions. On ​Saturday, North Korea dismissed a resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog against ⁠Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

Pyongyang last week also condemned a US-led naval drill which included South Korea ⁠and ​Japan and which ran from August 29 to September 10 near Guam. North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of leader Kim Jong ⁠Un, on Friday blamed US-led military drills for "ever-worsening" tensions on the Korean ⁠Peninsula and vowed ⁠no change in the country's course to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.