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Seoul, South Korea (CNN) - North Korea fired two “unidentified projectiles” in the waters between South Korea and Japan on Thursday afternoon, the South Korean government said in a statement.
It is not clear what exactly was launched, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea said the Army "remains alert when monitoring relevant movements in preparation for new launches."
The Coast Guard of Japan said in a statement that "it seems that North Korea has launched a missile" and advised ships to avoid the area.
If confirmed as a missile test, it would be Pyongyang's first in almost a month and 12 since May. The country said it tested a new type of ballistic missile launched from a submarine on October 2. Experts expressed concern about that event because it was the first missile test conducted by North Korea at some time that did not involve a smaller range weapon.
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The United States and North Korea held nuclear talks at the labor level a few days later, but concluded without an agreement. Both sides offered a very different picture of the events: Pyongyang accused Washington of lack of flexibility, but the State Department said that the United States "contributed creative ideas and had a good discussion with its DPRK counterparts," using the formal acronym from North Korea.
Despite their differences, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have continued to speak positively of their personal relationship.
Kim was quoted last week as saying that his relationship with Trump is "special" and that the two leaders maintain "mutual trust."
However, Pyongyang has been particularly critical of Trump's advisors and the diplomats around him. And the clock upon reaching an agreement may be running.
Kim said in an important political speech in April that he would give the Trump administration until the end of the year to change his negotiating strategy. Since then, North Korea has resumed test missiles and has reiterated in state media that Pyongyang will give the US. UU. until the end of the year to solve the problem. It is not clear how serious that period is.
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This week also marked the first time Kim contacted South Korean President Moon Jae-in in weeks.
Kim sent a letter to Moon to offer his condolences to the South Korean leader after his father's death, according to Moon's office.
The letter was delivered on Wednesday and delivered to Panmunjom, the joint security area in the demilitarized zone that divides North Korea and South Korea.
CNN's Chie Kobayashi contributed to this report.
