(LEAD) N. Korea fires 1 long-range ballistic missile toward East Sea ahead of planned S. Korea-Japan summit

(ATTN: UPDATES with JCS' explanation in paras 2-4; RECASTS headline, lead)

SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday, Seoul's military said, hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan are set to meet to discuss the recalcitrant regime's evolving threats and other shared challenges.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 7:10 a.m. It did not immediately provide other details.

"While strengthening its monitoring and vigilance, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

The North previously fired what it claimed to be a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile on Feb. 18.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plan to hold a summit in Tokyo, where the North's nuclear and missile threats are expected to be high on their agenda.

The latest launch also came amid the ongoing South Korea-U.S. Freedom Shield (FS) exercise, which the North has decried as "preparations for a war of aggression" against it.

The North fired two short-range ballistic missiles Tuesday and what it claimed to be two "strategic cruise missiles" from a submarine two days earlier. The launches were seen as a response to the FS exercise.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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