North Korea has fired a short-range missile towards the sea off its east coast, according to South Korea’s military, as Pyongyang repeated a call for the Washington and Seoul Korea to scrap their “hostile policy” to restart talks, writes The Guardian.

The missile was launched from the central north province of Jagang at around 6:40am (2140 GMT), the South’s joint chiefs of staff said. Japan’s defence ministry said it appeared to be a ballistic missile, without elaborating.

The launch posed no immediate threat to US personnel, territory or allies, said a US military statement.

The announcement came just before North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations said no one could deny his country’s right to self-defence and to test weapons.

The latest test underscored the steady development of North Korea’s weapons systems, raising the stakes for stalled talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear and ballistic missile arsenals in return for US sanctions relief.