North Korea fires ballistic missile 2 days after ICBM test

New Delhi: South Korea says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the launch was made on Monday morning but gave no further details such as how far the weapon flew.

Two days ago, North Korea resumed weapons testing activities with an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

North Korea's state media said Sunday its latest ICBM test was meant to further bolster its "fatal" nuclear attack capacity and threatened additional powerful steps over upcoming military drills between the United States and South Korea.

The United States responded by flying long-range supersonic bombers in a show of force later Sunday for separate joint exercises with South Korean and Japanese warplanes. 

What is ICBM test?

An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi), primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). 

Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons can also be delivered with varying effectiveness, but have never been deployed on ICBMs. 

Most modern designs support Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs), allowing a single missile to carry several warheads, each of which can strike a different target. 

Russia, the United States, China, France, India, the United Kingdom, Israel, and North Korea are the only countries known to have operational ICBMs.