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By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, marking the second such launch in less than a week in an apparent protest against an upcoming combined military exercise between the South and the United States.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missile launched from the Wonsan area on the east coast at around 6 a.m.

The missile flew more than 700 kilometers, with a detailed analysis on its specifications under way by South Korean and U.S. authorities, according to the JCS.

South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities tracked the launch since its early stage and shared information with Japan as well, maintaining a full readiness posture through cooperation between the two countries, it added.

"Under the staunch South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture, our military is closely monitoring various North Korean activities and maintaining the capability and readiness to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation," the JCS said.

The latest launch came six days after the North fired what the South's military has identified as a short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday.

The recent missile launches come as South Korea and the U.S. are set to begin their key annual combined exercise next week.

Pyongyang has strongly denounced the allies' drills as war rehearsals and conducted its own weapons tests around the training period in a show of protest.

South Korea's National Security Office (NSO) expressed concerns over continued missile launches since last week, urging Pyongyang to stop such provocations that are in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The NSO convened an emergency meeting with defense and military officials shortly after Wednesday's launch to assess the launch and its impact on security, and directed necessary measures, officials said.

The latest launch marked the 11th such launch by North Korea this year to date.

elly@yna.co.kr

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