Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Council expressed "deep regret" Tuesday over the presumed firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile by North Korea earlier in the day.

The council held an emergency meeting in response and issued a press release reaffirming that "stability on the Korean Peninsula is more important than ever," and urged Pyongyang to return to peace talks.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the latest launch did not pose an immediate threat to American personnel, territory, or that of its allies.

But it stressed that Washington "condemns these actions" and called on the North to refrain from "any further destabilizing acts."

An official at Seoul's unification ministry said South and North Korea held their regular phone call via their liaison hotline in the morning, however, Pyongyang gave no prior notice of its missile test.