North Korea has launched a another missile in an apparent response to US-South Korean military drills that its state media is depicting as an invasion rehearsal.

Japan’s defence ministry and coast guard said what appeared to be a North Korean missile was fired on Sunday morning and came down in the sea. They gave no further details.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cited the South’s military as saying the ballistic missile plunged into waters to the east of the divided peninsula.

The launch, if confirmed, would be the North’s third round of weapons tests since the US and South Korean began their joint military drills last week.

The North views the drills as an invasion practice run, rejecting US and  South Korean assurances that the training is of a purely defnsive nature.

The latest US-South Korean drills, which include computer simulations and field exercises, will continue until Thursday.

The North Korean weapons recently tested include its longest-range Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the US mainland.

The North’s state media quoted leader Kim Jong-un as saying the ICBM launch was meant to “strike fear into the enemies”.

-with AAP