Seoul, Oct 19 (TIWN) North Korea fired what appears to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) toward the East Sea on Tuesday, the South Korean military said, in yet another setback to Seoul's efforts for peace with Pyongyang.

The short-range missile was launched from waters east of Sinpo, a city on the North's east coast, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). 

The launch was detected at 10.17 a.m., Yonhap News Agency reported.  The missile travelled about 590 km at a top altitude of around 60 km, an informed source said, noting the possibility that the North might have used a submarine as a launch platform this time.  The North previously conducted an SLBM test in 2015 and 2019. The South's military believes that it used a barge rather than a submarine during the past tests. 

Officials said that Tuesday's launch came after South Korean and US intelligence authorities had detected signs of a possible weapons test near Sinpo, where the North has been pushing to build a 3,200-tonne submarine capable of SLBM operations.