North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Sunday.

The missile is believed to have already fallen, according to Japan's Ministry of Defense.

The last ⁠time Pyongyang tested its ballistic missile was in November.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ​is making a state visit to China starting from Sunday, where experts say he might ask Beijing to facilitate dialog with North Korea.

North Korean leader ⁠Kim Jong Un called for more than double the production capacity of tactical guided weapons on his latest visit to a munitions factory, ⁠North Korea's state ​media reported on Sunday.

In ⁠recent weeks, Kim has made a series of visits to factories that build weapons, as well as to a nuclear-powered submarine, and has overseen missile tests ahead of this year's Ninth Party Congress of ⁠the ​Workers' Party, convened to set out major policy goals.