SEOUL -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Monday fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile toward its eastern waters, the Republic of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.

The ROK military detected a projectile believed to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile that was fired toward the eastern waters from Pyongyang areas around midday local time (0300 GMT), according to the JCS.

The JCS said in a statement that the military strengthened its surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches and maintained its full readiness posture while closely sharing relevant intelligence with the United States and Japan.

It marked the DPRK's first missile test launch in about two months after firing a short-range ballistic missile on Nov 5, 2024.