The statement marked the first time North Korea had confirmed its activities at a missile-launching base at Musudan-ri on its east coast.
The launch took place between 9.30am and 9.35am local time at the Sohae satellite launch centre in Tongchang-ri on the north-west coast of North Korea, reports said.
The missile launching, at least the sixth since the nuclear test Monday, was at Musudan-ri on North Korea's northeast coast, said an official at the South Korean Defense Ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
The Defense Ministry official said the missile was launched from a site in Musudan-ri on the northeastern coast, the same area from which a long-range rocket was launched on April 5 in what was seen as a test of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile technology.
Citing satellite photos from April 29, it said that a new launching facility under construction since last summer at Musudan-ri on the country's northeast coast was bigger than an old facility in the same area that was used to launch rockets in 1998, 2006 and 2009.
