SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired an “unidentified projectile” into the sea, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, less than a week after Pyongyang reported testing a hypersonic missile.

The projectile was fired into the sea east of the peninsula, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, without giving further details.

The launch was also reported by Japan’s coast guard, which said the North had fired a “ballistic missile-like object”.

The launch comes after six countries, including the United States and Japan, urged North Korea to cease “destabilising actions” ahead of a UN Security Council closed-door meeting to discuss last week’s test of what Pyongyang called a hypersonic missile.

In 2021, nuclear-armed North Korea said it had successfully tested a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile, a long-range cruise missile, a train-launched weapon, and what it described as a hypersonic warhead.

The latest test comes as North Korea has refused to respond to US appeals for talks with Pyongyang.

At a key meeting of North Korea’s ruling party last month, leader Kim Jong Un — who has overseen rapid progress in the country’s military technology, at the cost of international sanctions — vowed to continue building up military capabilities, without mentioning the United States.

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© Agence France-Presse