Kim Jong-Un inspecting the test of a new-type anti-air guided weapon system at an unknown location. photo released on April 2, 2016.(Photo: KCNA, AFP/Getty Images)
North Korea has fired<span style="color: Red;">*</span>what appears to be a ballistic missile from a submarine toward the East Sea,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the South Korean news agency Yonhap reports, quoting the South Korean military.
The South Korean<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Joint Chiefs of Staff<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said North Korea fired <span style="color: Red;">*</span>the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>projectile<span style="color: Red;">*</span>around 6:30 p.m. local time, according to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the news agency.
"The JCS said it is keeping close tabs on the North Korean military while maintaining its readiness posture,"
Yonhap reports.
The report comes amid reports in the South Korean press that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Pyongyang appears to be preparing for a nuclear test or the launch of another ballistic missile to mark the 6th annniversary of the Korean People's Army on April 25.
Two weeks ago, the North failed in its launch of a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile from a mobile launcher to celebrate the birthday of Kim Il-Sung, the country's founder and the grandfather of the current North Korean leaderr, Kim Jong-un.
The South Korean newspaper
Donga Ilbo quotes unnamed South Korean military sources as saying North Korea appears to have completed all preparations for its fifth nuclear test.
While Yonghap and other South Korea news outlets play down the prospect of an imminent nuclear test, <span style="color: Red;">*</span>the U.S. and Japan <span style="color: Red;">*</span>have registered concerns over the prospects of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>fifth such test since October 2006, most recently<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in January 2016.
The latest nuclear and missile tests prompted strong sanctions against North Korea.
A top US. diplomat for the Asia-Pacific region said this week that a fifth nuclear test by North Korea could prompt even harsher sanctions against Pyongyang, including severely cutting off its access to hard currency.
"Like a regimen of medicine, the dosage can be upped when the effects fall short of what's required," Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Danny Russel said,
according to Reuters.
According to Japan's Asahi Shimbun, the U.S. South Korea, and Japan had agreed this week in Seoul to push for the complete ban on crude oil exports to the North in retaliation.
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