SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired an unidentified projectile eastward on Friday, South Korea's military said, the third launch in a little over a week.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced the launch without elaborating further.

The North's latest saber-rattling came days after Washington imposed new sanctions on six North Koreans involved in the reclusive regime's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

The North fired what it claims to be hypersonic missiles on Wednesday last week and Tuesday, in an apparent quest for new, advanced weapons amid a deadlock in nuclear talks with the United States.