Ahmad 
South Korea’s military issued an alert on Monday that North Korea had fired an unidentified ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan.
The announcement comes hours after a short-range missile was launched by North Korea, amid speculation that the missile could be an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The English version of Yonhap news agency quoted the South Korean military as saying it had monitored the launch but did not provide further details about the missile launched.
North Korea fired a short-range missile earlier last night from in or around Pyongyang.
The missile traveled an estimated distance of 570 kilometers before landing in the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea’s military.
The events follow the second session of the Nuclear Advisory Group (NGC) between Seoul and Washington, where it was agreed to complete the development of guidelines for a joint nuclear strategic plan by the middle of next year.
North Korea’s Defense Ministry criticized the recent NGC meeting as an “open declaration on nuclear confrontation” after Sunday’s missile launch and the United States for deploying significant military equipment on the Korean peninsula this year.
The latest threats from North Korea come in the context of escalating tensions, after Pyongyang last month canceled a military agreement between the two Koreas signed in 2018 aimed at easing tensions and preventing clashes along the border, with Seoul partially suspending the agreement in protest at North Korea’s launch of its first military spy satellite on November 21.