Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Oct. 3, 2019 shows the test-firing of the new-type ballistic missile, known as Pukguksong-3, in vertical mode in the waters off the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s eastern Wonsan Bay. (KCNA/Handout via Xinhua)

 
North Korea fired two projectiles on Thursday, the South's military said, with nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington at a deadlock.

The weapons were launched from South Pyongan Province in an easterly direction over the sea, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, without specifying the type of device involved.

"We are maintaining readiness and monitoring in case of additional launches," they added.

It is the latest in a series of launches by the North but the first since October 2, when it fired a sea-launched missile.

The North then walked away from working-level nuclear talks with the US in Sweden, saying it was disappointed at the lack of "new and creative" solutions offered by Washington. 

Pyongyang is under multiple sets of international sanctions over its banned nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs.

It is demanding the easing of the measures and has repeatedly urged Washington to come forward with a new offer by the end of this year.

On Sunday, the North's state media carried a statement from Kim Yong-chol - previously the North's counterpart to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - accusing Washington of seeking to "isolate and stifle the DPRK in a more crafty and vicious way than before."

He lauded the "close personal relations" between leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, but warned, "There is a limit to everything."

Talks between Pyongyang and Washington have stalled since the two men's Hanoi summit broke down without an agreement in February.

The meeting had been intended to build on their high-profile first summit in Singapore last year.

"The launch is a display of its warning to both Seoul and Washington that it can carry out more military activities unless the US comes up with a 'new method,'" said Lim Eul-chul, professor of North Korean ­studies at Kyungnam University. 

Thursday's launch came despite Kim Jong-un sending a message of condolences to the South's President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday for the death of his mother, who was born in the North.

Kang Han-ok, who was born and grew up in the North but was evacuated by US forces during the Korean War (1950-53), died from a chronic illness on Tuesday. She was 92.