SEOUL -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired an unidentified projectile, presumed to be a ballistic missile, into its eastern waters, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Saturday.

The JCS said it detected the suspected ballistic missile launched from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at about 8:48 am local time (2348 GMT Friday).

The JCS noted in a statement that the South Korean military was tracing relevant situations and maintaining defense readiness posture in preparations for possible further launches.

South Korea's presidential Blue House convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council after the projectile launch.

It was the DPRK's ninth missile test this year. The DPRK said that it conducted a reconnaissance satellite development test on Feb 27, which South Korea called a ballistic missile launch.