North Korea fired a missile towards the sea off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, as Pyongyang called on the US and South Korea to scrap their “double standards” on weapons programmes to restart talks.

The missile was launched from the central north province of Jagang at around 2140 GMT, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Japan’s defence ministry said it appeared to be a ballistic missile, without elaborating.

The latest test underscored the steady development of North Korea’s weapons systems, raising the stakes for talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear and ballistic missile arsenals.