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This undated file photo shows a ballistic missile being launched by North Korea. (Yonhap)

North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Sunday morning.

Its launch appears to have been a show of force in response to the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the port city of Busan on Friday and joint South Korea-US naval exercises scheduled to take place from Monday to Thursday.

The missile was the fifth test-fired by the North since the administration of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took office. The presidential office’s National Security Council condemned the launch as a “clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and an act of provocation that raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”

On Sunday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that they had “detected a short-range ballistic missile launched over the East Sea by North Korea from the area of Taechon, North Pyongyang Province, at 0653 hours on Sept. 25.”

The Joint Chiefs added that they had detected a missile flight distance of around 600 km, an altitude of approximately 60 km, and a speed of Mach 5.

The missile reportedly moved in an irregular up-and-down pattern over a portion of its trajectory as it rose and descended following the launch. South Korean military authorities are reportedly inclined to believe that it was a KN-23, known as the “North Korean Iskander” missile.

As a surface-to-surface missile, this was reportedly not the type of missile that could be aimed at maritime targets such as aircraft carriers. This was North Korea’s first ballistic missile launch in 113 days, following a spate of eight short-range ballistic missiles launched on June 5.

The North’s ballistic missile launch came just one day before South Korea and the US were set to kick off joint maritime drills.

A US carrier group consisting of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and Aegis-equipped missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG-52), among other naval vessels, reached the port of Busan on Friday and is poised to engage in drills with the Korean Navy in the East Sea Monday through Thursday.

The last time a US aircraft carrier took part in joint maritime exercises with South Korea around the Korean Peninsula was five years ago, in November 2017, around the time North Korea tested a nuclear weapon and launched an intercontinental ballistic missile.

That had fueled speculation that the carrier and other vessels might have been the target of the North Korean missile. But the North Korean projectile was determined to be a surface-to-surface missile.

The military authorities are focusing on the possibility of additional military action by North Korea.

“Given North Korea’s overall activities, this should be regarded as weapons development or a test launch that’s part of the longer process of strengthening military capabilities on orders from Kim Jong-un,” said one official in the South Korean military.

“That’s also why we’re bearing in mind the possibility of more North Korean provocations,” the source added.

South Korea’s presidential office convened an emergency meeting of the standing committee of the National Security Council on Sunday. The meeting was chaired by Kim Sung-han, director of the National Security Office.

Officials in attendance at this meeting “denounced this ballistic missile launch, which is a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a provocative action that raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region,” the presidential office said.

According to the office, the participants noted that this was North Korea’s first ballistic missile launch since North Korea passed legislation about its nuclear policy on Sept. 8 and “reconfirmed their resolution to neutralize any kind of missile provocation by North Korea” through this week’s joint maritime drills.

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, staff reporter

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