▲ This photo, taken on Oct. 9, 2022, shows a news report on a North Korean missile launch being aired on a TV screen at Seoul Station in Seoul. (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) N Korea-missile launch

(2nd LD) N. Korea fires 1 short-range ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

(ATTN: UPDATES lead paras with military's explanation; RECASTS headline)

By Song Sang-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired one short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) toward the East Sea on Friday, the South Korean military said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 1:49 a.m. It did not provide other details.

"While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

The launch came after the North flew around 10 military aircraft close to the inter-Korean border at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday through 12:20 a.m., prompting the South to scramble its F-35A fighters and other assets in response.

On Wednesday, Pyongyang also fired two long-range strategic cruise missiles, involving units operating "tactical nukes," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The North, in addition, announced Monday that leader Kim Jong-un had inspected military drills involving the units in charge of tactical nukes from Sept. 25 to Sunday, during which it staged a series of provocations, including the Oct. 4 launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).

The drills were organized under "inevitable" circumstances in reference to the deployment of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier to the East Sea for naval drills with South Korea, according to the KCNA.

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