North Korea test fires a ballistic missile as Blinken visits Seoul, where he warned that Putin could provide Kim Jong Un with advanced space technology.

The launch event came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks with South Korean allies over the North Korean nuclear threat and other issues.

North Korea on Monday fired its first ballistic missile of the year into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, just two weeks ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. The launch was confirmed by South Korean and Japanese authorities, though Pyongyang has yet to provide details.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a North Korean missile test carried out during his visit to Seoul on Monday was a reminder of the need to deepen Washington's cooperation with South Korea and Japan to deter an emboldened Pyongyang.

North Korea has fired what appears to be an intermediate range ballistic missile towards the sea to its east, South Korea's military said, in what is Pyongyang's first missile launch in two months. Japan's defence ministry said around noon local time (03:00 GMT) that the projectile had already fallen into the sea.

North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile Monday, Japan’s coast guard said, ratcheting up tensions in the region as political turmoil continues in neighboring South Korea.