The Joint Chiefs of Staff gave no further details about the launch, saying an analysis was under way, Yonhap said.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) did not offer immediate confirmation of the launch.

The launch comes several days after North Korea claimed to have successfully tested a multiple warhead missile, but the South said that Wednesday's launch ended in a mid-air explosion.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with Pyongyang ramping up weapons testing while bombarding the South with balloons full of trash.

The North says those missives are in retaliation to balloons loaded with anti-regime propaganda leaflets sent northwards by activists in the South.