North Korea launches ballistic missile toward eastern waters: Seoul

North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters Tuesday, the South Korean military said, in the country's second weapons launch this week.

The launch came a day after the U.S. and South Korean militaries began their largest joint field exercises in years on Monday.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the latest launch was made in the morning but did not offer further details, such as how far the missile flew.

A day earlier North Korea said it had test-fired two cruise missiles from a submarine, the first time the country is known to have conducted a launch of that type. Its previous underwater launches all involved ballistic missiles.

It was also the first time North Korea fired multiple missiles from a submarine on a single launch event, observers say.

Pyongyang had vowed a strong response to the U.S.-South Korean drills because it views such military exercises by its rivals as a rehearsal for invasion.