North Korea fires ballistic missile, says South Korea military

North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast, South Korea's military said on Monday.

The launch comes just two days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the sea off Japan's west coast, in what it called a "sudden launching drill".

Monday's missile launch is the North's third major weapons test this year after Pyongyang threatened an "unprecedentedly persistent, strong" response as South Korea and the United States geared up for their annual military exercises as part of efforts to fend off the growing nuclear and missile threat that the North poses.