North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea's military said, two days after a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier arrived here for allied drills. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from an area in or around Taechon, North Pyongan Province, at 6:53 a.m., and that it flew some 600 kilometers at an apogee of around 60 km at a top speed of Mach 5.

South Korea's presidential National Security Council (NSC) on Sunday condemned North Korea's test-firing of a short-range ballistic missile as a "provocation" that heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the region.

North Korea has dialed up its testing activities to a record pace in 2022, testing more than 30 ballistic weapons, including its first intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017, as it continues to expand its military capabilities amid a prolonged stalemate in nuclear diplomacy.

The launch came as the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group arrived in South Korea for the two countries’ joint military exercise to show their strength against growing North Korean threats.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a statement Tokyo is “doing its utmost" to gather information on North Korea’s launch and confirm the safety of ships and aircraft, although there were no immediate reports of damages.

The North Korean threat is also expected to be a key agenda when U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visits South Korea next week after attending the state funeral in Tokyo of slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.