INTERNATIONAL: North Korea has fired what could be a ballistic missile, Japan's coast guard has announced on Sunday, February 27, in what would be the first test since the nuclear-armed country has conducted a record number of launches in January.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff has also reported that North Korea had fired at least one "unidentified projectile" eastward, without elaborating.

Sunday's launch came less than two weeks ahead of a pivotal presidential election in South Korea on March 9, amid fears that North Korea may push ahead with missile development while international attention is focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

North Korea's last test was on January 30, when it fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate range ballistic missile, the largest weapon fired since 2017. That capped a record month of mostly short-range missile launches in January. Amid stalled denuclearisation talks with the United States, North Korea has suggested it could resume testing its longer range missiles or even nuclear weapons.