(LEAD) N. Korea fires ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

▲ This file photo, released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 18, 2022, shows what the North claims to be a tactical guided missile being launched the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) N Korea-missile launch

(LEAD) N. Korea fires ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

(ATTN: RECASTS lead; UPDATES with more details throughout, ADDS byline)

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea's military said, after a senior Seoul official warned the North could fire an intercontinental ballistic missile in the coming weeks.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch but did not give further details.

The launch came days after South Korea's First Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo said the North could fire an intercontinental ballistic missile within this month as he arrived in Washington on Thursday to attend the second session of the Nuclear Consultative Group.

During the talks, the allies agreed to complete the establishment of guidelines on the planning and operation of a shared nuclear strategy by the middle of next year.

The North's latest saber-rattling came amid heightened tensions after Pyongyang last month scrapped a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement designed to reduce tensions and prevent accidental clashes along the border.

Seoul had partially suspended the deal in protest of the North's successful launch of its first military spy satellite on Nov. 21.

The North last fired a ballistic missile on Nov. 22, but the launch apparently failed, according to the JCS.

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