North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea's military said, its first launch of the year just hours before South Korea's leader heads to China for a summit.
South Korea's defence ministry said it had detected "several projectiles, presumed to be ballistic missiles" fired from near the North Korean capital Pyongyang around 7.50am local time (10.50pm Irish time yesterday).
"The military is maintaining a full readiness posture, having strengthened surveillance and vigilance against possible additional launches," South Korea said.
Japan's defence ministry also said it detected a possible ballistic missile, which it said landed in an unspecified location around 8.08am local time (11.08pm Irish time yesterday).
It is North Korea's first ballistic missile launch since November, when it staged a test after US President Donald Trump approved South Korea's plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine.
One analyst said Mr Trump's military operation against Venezuela likely played a role in the decision to carry out the launch.
North Korea has for decades argued it needs its nuclear and missile programme as a deterrent against alleged regime change efforts by the US.
The United States has offered North Korea repeated assurances it has no such plans.
"They likely fear that if the United States so chooses, it could launch a precision strike at any moment, threatening the regime's survival," Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said.
"The underlying message is likely that attacking North Korea would not be as easy as a strike on Venezuela," he added.
Lee bound for China
The test also came just hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China for talks with counterpart Xi Jinping, whose government is a key economic backer of North Korea.
Mr Lee hopes to possibly harness China's clout over North Korea to support his bid to improve ties with North Korea.
North Korea has significantly stepped up missile testing in recent years.
Analysts say this drive is aimed at improving precision strike capabilities, challenging the United States as well as South Korea and testing weapons before potentially exporting them to Russia.
North Korea is also set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party in the coming weeks - its first in five years.
Economic policy, as well as defence and military planning, are likely to be high on the agenda.
Ahead of that conclave, leader Kim Jong Un ordered the "expansion" and modernisation of the country's missile production and the construction of more factories to meet growing demand.
Today, state media reported that Mr Kim had paid a visit to a facility involved in making tactical guided weapons.
He ordered them to expand current production capacity by 250%, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
