Seoul, Nov 9 (IANS): The North Korean missile that flew across its de facto maritime border with South Korea last week has been found to be an "SA-5" type similar to that used by Russia in the Ukraine war, the Defence Ministry in Seoul said on Wednesday.

The Ministry announced the results of an inter-agency analysis of the debris of a missile that North Korea fired southward on November 2 past the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The debris is around 3 metres long and 2 metres wide, assessed to be that of an "SA-5" surface-to-air missile, given its appearance and feature, it said.

It can be used for a ground-to-ground strike purpose and Russia recently used a similar missile in its war in Ukraine, the Ministry added.

It "strongly" condemned the North's SA-5 missile firing as a violation of the inter-Korean military agreement signed on September 19, 2018, to reduce border tensions.

"Our military will not tolerate any North Korean provocation that poses a threat to our nationals' lives and safety. We will sternly deal with it with overwhelming capabilities based on the Seoul-Washington alliance," the Ministry said.