North Korea has conducted what is thought to be its biggest missile launch since 2017.
People at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, watch a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test after North Korea fired what is thought to be its biggest missile since 2017. Photo: AFP or licensors
South Korea reported that the launch took place at 7.52am local time on Sunday (11.52am NZT) off North Korea's east coast.
Japan, South Korea and the US have all condemned the launch, the seventh test this month.
The UN prohibits North Korea from ballistic and nuclear weapons tests, and has imposed strict sanctions.
But the East Asian state regularly defies the ban, and leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to bolster his country's defences.
South Korea's National Security Council said today's test was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which would be the biggest missile tested since November 2017.
Japanese and South Korean officials estimated that the missile reached an altitude of 2,000km and flew for 30 minutes to a distance of 800km. It landed in the Sea of Japan.
The United States called on North Korea to "refrain from further destabilising acts".
January was already one of the busiest months on record for North Korea's missile programme, with several short range missiles fired into the sea.
South Korea's president, Moon Jae-in, said the latest flurry of tests was reminiscent of the heightened tensions in 2017, when North Korea conducted several nuclear tests and launched its largest missiles, including some that flew over Japan.
According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the missile appears to be similar to the Hwasong-12 missile that the North tested in 2017.
In 2018, Kim announced a moratorium on testing nuclear weapons or its longest range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
But the North Korean leader said in 2019 he was no longer bound by the moratorium.
The US imposed more sanctions on North Korea earlier in January, in response to previous missile launches. Talks between the two countries have stalled since US President Joe Biden took office.
The missiles tested earlier this month showed North Korea was developing technology that can defeat the costly and complex missile defence systems that America and Japan have been deploying across this region.
Former South Korean naval commander Professor Kim Dong Yup said: "They want to have a deterrence system that is like a scorpion's tail."
"North Korea's main purpose is not to attack but to defend themselves," said Professor Kim, adding that the country was trying "to secure a diversified deterrent capability".
-BBC