North Korea on Wednesday fired off a ballistic missile into waters off its east coast, the South Korean military said, in an apparent show of force against the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system, South Korea`s Yonhap news agency reported.
North Korea launched a missile into the East Sea from its western province at 07:50, according to South Korea`s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Yonhap wrote.
It marked the first launch of a missile since July 19 when North Korea fired off two mid-range Rodong missiles and a shorter-range Scud missile.
In July, South Korea and the United States decided to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the southern county of Seongju in a bid to counter North Korea`s evolving nuclear and missile threats.
