The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has fired a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) eastward, Yonhap News Agency reported on Sunday, citing the Republic of Korea's military.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of the Republic of Korea (ROK) said it detected the launch from the Tongchang-ri area on the DPRK's west coast at 11:05 a.m. and the projectile flew some 800 km before hitting a target.

"While strengthening its monitoring and vigilance in preparation against the possibility of additional provocations, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States," the JCS said in a text message carried by Yonhap. 

The latest launch, the third of this week, came amid an ongoing ROK-U.S. annual large-scale joint military drill, the Freedom Shield exercises, that runs from March 13 to 23.

According to the ROK Defense Ministry, a U.S. nuclear-capable B-1B strategic bomber has returned to the ROK for joint exercises on Sunday in light of the new launch test. 

Previously, on March 16, the DPRK fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile from the Pyongyang International Airport which landed on a preset area in the open waters off the eastern coast, according to the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

KCNA said the launch was "a gesture of warning against the ongoing U.S.-ROK war drills." 

The launch of Hwasong-17 came hours after ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo and agreed on stronger security cooperation against what they called the DPRK's growing nuclear and missile threats. 

The first missile launch from Pyongyang this week was on March 14. It saw two surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missiles fired from the South Hwanghae Province, near the country's west coast, flying some 611 kilometers before hitting a target.