(Bloomberg) -- Japan’s government said a projectile launched by North Korea on Tuesday may have been a ballistic missile, a move that goes against United Nations resolutions on Kim Jong Un’s regime. 

Kyodo News reported the Japanese Defense Ministry’s initial conclusion, following earlier reports -- citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff -- that North Korea fired a projectile into waters off its east coast.

The launch comes after a test earlier this month of two short-range ballistic missiles from a train. That was North Korea’s first test of ballistic missiles since March, and followed what Pyongyang said was a test of new, long-range cruise missiles a few days earlier. 

Kim Jong Un Adds Train-Launched Missiles to Nuclear Arsenal (1)

North Korea, which is barred by United Nations resolutions from ballistic missile testing, has been building up its capabilities to strike the U.S. mainland with nuclear warheads and deliver tactical strikes against South Korea and Japan, which host tens of thousands of American troops. 

Reports of the launch came as North Korea’s United Nations envoy, Kim Song prepared to speak to the annual UN General Assembly in New York. He used his time at the podium to criticize the U.S. policy toward Pyongyang. 

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