N.Korea conducts suspected missile test ahead of S.Korea election

The last was on Feb. 27 when North Korea said it tested systems for a reconnaissance satellite. North Korea's ballistic missile launches are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions, which have imposed sanctions on the country over its weapons programmes.

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile toward the sea to the east of the Korean peninsula, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Saturday, an apparent missile test just days before the South's presidential election.

The JCS did not immediately elaborate. The launch would be the ninth this year. The last was on Feb. 27 when North Korea said it tested systems for a reconnaissance satellite.

North Korea's ballistic missile launches are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions, which have imposed sanctions on the country over its weapons programmes.