North Korea has tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile that has affected Japan's election campaign and a large arms display in Seoul.
According to Reuters, the South Korean military says the experiment reflects North Korea's innovation in weapons technology.
According to AFP, the experiment comes at a time when North and South Korea are innovating their weapons and could potentially start an arms race in the region.
The missile was fired Tuesday at a time when US and South Korean diplomats met in Washington on Monday to discuss a nuclear standoff with North Korea, Reuters reported.
The heads of the US, South Korean and Japanese intelligence agencies also reportedly met in Seoul on Tuesday.
South Korea's military chief says a ballistic missile was fired from the Sanpo area of North Korea, where North Korea stockpiles ballistic missiles launched from submarines and submarines for test firing.
It was not immediately clear if the missile was fired from a submarine or from a submersible test barge, as in previous experiments.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that "our military is closely monitoring the situation and is working with the United States to prepare for further launches."
South Korea's National Security Council convened an emergency meeting and expressed "deep regret" over the experience. South Korea has urged North Korea to resume talks.
Referring to North Korea's test, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kashida said two ballistic missiles had been detected. He also said it was "regrettable" that North Korea had fired missiles in recent weeks.
There was no immediate word from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff on the number of missiles.
However, the Japanese prime minister canceled his campaign. The deputy chief cabinet secretary told reporters that Fumio was considering going to Tokyo to deal with the tense missile situation.
