According to South Korea's military, North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its east coast less than a week after the North stated its intention to acquire nuclear weapons "as quickly as possible."

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated that it detected the launch at approximately 12:03 pm (03:03 GMT) from Pyongyang's Sunan neighborhood. The Japan Coast Guard also reported the launch, speculating that it may have been a ballistic missile.

According to the JCS, the missile traveled 470 kilometers at a top altitude of 780 kilometers and a speed of Mach 11.

The launch is the North's 14th this year, and it comes less than a week before newly elected South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, a conservative, is scheduled to take office. Pyongyang conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test since 2017, ratcheting up diplomatic pressure on regional neighbors and the US.

The JCS asked Pyongyang to immediately halt ballistic missile testing, which it condemned as a "clear" violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a "grave threat" to regional and global stability.

"Our military is tracking and monitoring related movements in order to prepare for the possibility of an additional launch, and it is maintaining a state of readiness," the JCS stated in a text message to reporters.

A North Korean-focused news organization, NK News, reported that it had gotten images of a plume of white smoke rising vertically against a blue sky.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised last week to accelerate the development of his country's nuclear arsenal as he witnessed a massive military parade commemorating the army's founding anniversary.

Denuclearisation negotiations with the US have stagnated amid fears that Pyongyang may soon conduct a nuclear test.

Yoon is likely to take a more aggressive stance toward North Korea than Moon Jae-in's predecessor.