▲ A ballistic missile is launched toward the East Sea from the Jangyon area in South Hwanghae Province on March 14, 2023, in this file photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(5th LD) N Korea-missile launch

(5th LD) N. Korea fires intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

(ATTN: ADDS more info, details in paras 4-7, 9; RECASTS throughout)

SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired an intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, escalating tensions amid its continued refusal to answer what used to be daily cross-border calls.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch in the vicinity of Pyongyang at 7:23 a.m., and the missile, fired at a lofted angle, flew about 1,000 kilometers before splashing into the water.

"The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are conducting a comprehensive analysis on its detailed specifications," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

The North appears to have tested a "new" missile system, a Seoul official said on condition of anonymity. He noted the allies are looking into "various" possibilities, including the launch having involved a solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

South Korea's presidential National Security Council (NSC) "strongly" denounced the North's launch of a ballistic missile, while the U.S. NSC called the launch an "ICBM" test.

"The United States strongly condemns the DPRK for its test of a long-range ballistic missile," NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Soon after the launch, the allies held a coordination meeting and reaffirmed the two sides will further solidify their combined defense posture against "any North Korean threats and provocations," the JCS said.

"North Korea's ballistic missile launch is a grave provocative act that not only harms peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community, and a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions," it said, urging the North to immediately stop such launches.

Seoul officials said the latest launch might have been aimed partially at flaunting the North's nuclear force ahead of the 111th birthday of the late Kim Il-sung, the North's national founder and the current leader's grandfather, on Saturday, and protesting the deterrence efforts by Seoul and Washington.

The North's last launch involving an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) or a longer-range one was that of a Hwasong-17 ICBM on March 16.

This week's launch came amid speculation that the recalcitrant regime could fire a long-range rocket to put its first military satellite into orbit given its professed plan to finish preparations for the launch by this month.

Since last Friday, the North has not responded to routine cross-border calls through inter-Korean liaison and military communication lines, raising concerns that the absence of regular contact could lead to provocations by the reclusive regime.

Pyongyang has recently ratcheted up tensions through hardening rhetoric and other provocative moves, such as the testing of what it claimed to be underwater nuclear attack drones.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for expanding his country's war deterrence in a more "practical and offensive" manner, as he presided over a key ruling party meeting Monday, according to Pyongyang's state media.

During the meeting, Kim was seen pointing to an apparent military operational map featuring key targets in the South -- a scene that raised speculation that he might have planned drills or other provocative acts with the targets in mind.

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