North Korea is believed to have tested a "new-type" of short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) on Friday morning, South Korea's Blue House said in a statement following a meeting of its National Crisis Management Center.

In an initial assessment several hours after Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported that it had detected a launch of two projectiles from North Korea's east coast, Blue House officials were said to have "expressed strong concern" about the launch -- Pyongyang's third in two weeks.