North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Friday that flew about 800km (500 miles) off its east coast into the sea, South Korea’s military said, days after fresh US sanctions were imposed on the isolated state.



South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the missile was likely a medium-range Rodong missile.

The United States called on North Korea to refrain from actions that raise tensions in the region after news broke of the missile launch. The state department said it was closely monitoring the situation and urged North Korea to focus on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its international commitments and obligations.

The launch comes amid heightened tension on the Korean peninsula with the North remaining defiant in the face of the UN security council sanctions imposed earlier in the month in response to a nuclear test conducted in January.

The missile was launched from an area near the west coast, north of the capital Pyongyang, flying across the peninsular and into the sea off the east coast early Friday morning, the South’s office of the joint chiefs of staff said in a statement.

It did not confirm the type of the missile. But 800km was likely beyond the range of most short-range missiles in the North’s arsenal.

North Korea last test-fired medium-range missiles in 2014.

The North fired two short-range missiles last week into the sea off its east coast and its leader Kim Jong-un ordered more nuclear weapons tests and missile tests to improve attack capability.

North Korea often fires missiles at periods of tension on the Korean peninsula or when it comes under pressure to curb its defiance and abandon its weapons programme.

New US sanctions on Pyongyang were issued on Wednesday aiming to expand the blockade against the isolated state by blacklisting individuals and entities that deal with the North’s economy.

North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and launched a long-range rocket in February in defiance of existing UN security council resolutions.

On Wednesday, North Korea’s supreme court sentenced a visiting American student, Otto Warmbier, to 15 years of hard labour for crimes against the state, a punishment Washington condemned as politically motivated.