South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectile was fired from North Korea’s east coast and entered the East Sea, while the Japanese prime minister’s office described it on X as a "suspected ballistic missile".
Japan’s Defence Ministry later reported that the projectile had already fallen, but offered no further details on its location or impact.
The launch follows a series of short‑range ballistic missiles fired by Pyongyang eight days earlier toward the same body of water, a salvo the North Korean military later framed as part of a joint fire‑power drill.
The timing comes days after North Korea publicly reaffirmed its status as a nuclear‑armed state and rejected a United Nations nuclear watchdog resolution that called for it to halt nuclear activities.
During the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference, North Korean officials accused "hostile forces" of attempting to end the country’s nuclear programme, and a foreign‑ministry spokesperson said the IAEA resolution would not affect the DPRK’s position as a nuclear weapons state.
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking in August, claimed North Korea possesses 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons, while South Korean estimates range between 80 and 120 warheads.