WATCH LIVE: Hegseth delivers remarks at the National War College amid reports of North Korea testing a missile

Seoul, South Korea (AFP) – North Korea on Friday launched a suspected short-range ballistic missile towards its eastern waters, the South Korean military said, as Pyongyang intensifies its test activity while talks with Washington and Seoul remain stalled.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. ET. Watch in the player above.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapon flew about 700 kilometers (434 miles) across the country after being fired from an inland area around western Taekwon Province.

She added that South Korean and American intelligence services monitored North Korea’s preparations to launch the missile in advance and are now analyzing the details of the test. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the South Korean military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance in anticipation of the possibility of more North Korean missile launches and is exchanging relevant information with the United States and Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi told reporters that the missile is believed to have landed in waters outside the country’s exclusive economic zone and likely did not cause any damage. North Korea did not immediately confirm the missile launch.

North Korea has accelerated the pace of its weapons tests in recent weeks, including launching hypersonic missiles and cruise missiles last month, which it said expanded the capabilities of its nuclear-armed military.

The South Korean military said earlier that it had monitored North Korea firing ten artillery shells into its western waters on Monday, while US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth began a two-day visit to South Korea.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff also said North Korea fired the same number of missiles on Saturday afternoon, ahead of a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Gyeongju, South Korea, where Lee called for a stronger role for Beijing to persuade the North to return to dialogue with Washington and Seoul.

Following annual security talks with South Korean defense officials on Tuesday, Hegseth praised South Korea’s plans to increase its military spending in the face of North Korean nuclear threats and other regional uncertainties.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been avoiding all forms of talks with Washington and Seoul since his diplomacy with US President Donald Trump was derailed during Trump’s first term in 2019 amid disagreements over trade relief from US-led sanctions on the North in exchange for steps to dismantle Kim’s nuclear programme.

Since then, he has accelerated the expansion of his nuclear weapons and missile program, while making Russia the centerpiece of his foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment to help fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. Kim’s arsenal now includes nuclear-capable missiles with varying ranges targeting US allies in Asia and the US mainland.

At a major military parade in Pyongyang last month – attended by high-ranking officials from Russia, China and Vietnam – Kim showed off some of the most powerful weapons in his arsenal, including a new intercontinental ballistic missile that he may be preparing to test in the coming weeks.

Kim urged Washington to abandon its demand for North Korea to surrender its nuclear weapons as a precondition for resuming diplomatic efforts. Trump’s suggestion to meet was ignored while the US president was in South Korea last week for meetings with world leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Jeonju.

North Korea on Thursday denounced the Trump administration’s latest sanctions on cybercrimes that help fund its illicit nuclear weapons program, accusing Washington of harboring “vicious” hostility toward Pyongyang and vowing unspecified countermeasures. Some experts said the statement indicated that North Korea had no urgency to reopen talks with Washington.

AP writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to the story from Tokyo.