North Korea fires long-range ballistic missile toward east coast of southern neighbor

North Korea fired what was suspected to be a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a day after Seoul said its northern neighbor was preparing to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The agency said in a statement that the missile was fired at a sharp angle from an area near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, at 7:10 a.m. (2210 GMT), but it did not confirm whether the missile had fallen or not.

"The ballistic missile launched by North Korea is believed to be a long-range ballistic missile launched at a high angle," the statement added.

The Japanese Coast Guard also confirmed that Pyongyang launched what may have been a ballistic missile.

South Korea's military intelligence command said Wednesday that North Korea has set up a mobile launcher at a site in preparation for launching what could be an intercontinental ballistic missile, around the time of the U.S. presidential election scheduled for next Tuesday.

North Korea has conducted a series of tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles on a steep trajectory, so that the projectiles land at much shorter distances than they were designed for, for reasons including safety and to avoid the political fallout that could result from firing a missile long into the Pacific Ocean.

Pyongyang's last test of an intercontinental ballistic missile was in December last year.

(Reuters)