North Korea fired a ballistic missile early Wednesday toward the Sea of Japan, defense ministries with both South Korea and Japan have detailed.
"A possible ballistic missile was launched from North Korea," read an initial message issued by Japanese officials. A follow-up release stated Pyongyang had "launched at least one ballistic missile."
South Korean military reported that the launch involved one long-range ballistic missile.
Details of the launch have yet to be released by military as an official analysis remains ongoing; however, preliminary reports citing defense insiders suggested the missile flew for approximately 74 minutes at an altitude of 6,000 kilometers and a range of 1,000 kilometers.
Japanese officials earlier indicated the missile fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone at about 11:13 a.m. local time.
A statement by issued by Japanese officials notes that aircraft and ships were instructed to avoid any potential debris they may come in contact with, as well as alert the Japan Coast Guard of any findings.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno has since condemned the "unacceptable" launch, underscoring that such behavior "threaten the peace and security of our country, the region and the international community."
"Such ballistic missile launches violate relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council," Matsuno said. "This is a serious problem from the point of view of the security of the people; that is why a strong protest has been lodged through the embassy in Beijing."
In response to the development, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is participating in NATO's Vilnius summit, called an emergency national security meeting. The launch was deployed as Yoon is due to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday.
The launch comes as North Korea blasted recent US reconnaissance flights that saw American planes enter the airspace above the nation's economic zone.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North Korean leader and who serves as the deputy department director of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, detailed that two flights were documented. The flights, however, are in addition to 'multiple' airspace violations that occurred earlier in the month.