North Korea fires unidentified projectile into sea: South Korea military

• North Korea Works on New Long Endurance Drones
• Nuclear weapons – the strategic card of North Korea
• North Korea: “United States of American's nuclear weapon monopoly were over”

The object was launched from an area in North Korea's western region, the South's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a short statement. It did not provide further details.

North Korea fires unidentified projectile into sea. Photo: Reuters

Earlier, the country's Yonhap news agency reported in a short dispatch that the North had fired a ballistic missile.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year speech that the country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and state media have said such a launch could come at any time.

That prompted a vow of an "overwhelming" response from U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis when he traveled to South Korea earlier this month.

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and a number of missile-related tests at an unprecedented rate since early last year and was seen by experts and officials to be making progress in its weapons capabilities.