Seoul: North Korea fired an unidentified projectile toward the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea's military reported, just a day after South Korea, the United States, and Japan concluded their trilateral military exercise.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Joint Chiefs of Staff detected the launch but have not provided further details pending additional analysis. This launch follows the completion of the Freedom Edge exercise, a five-day joint military drill conducted in international waters east and south of South Korea's southern island of Jeju.

These drills were carried out despite a previous scaling back of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise by Seoul and Washington. This reduction came after an order from U.S. President Donald Trump, who described the joint military exercises as "costly" and "totally inappropriate and hostile" toward Pyongyang, as part of a conciliatory approach to North Korea.

The timing of Saturday's launch is significant, occurring shortly before a high-profile summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, expected to take place in Washington later this month. North Korea-related issues are anticipated to be on the agenda for the Trump-Xi meeting.