North Korea fired a missile that landed about 300 kilometers from the Japanese island of Okushiri, outside the exclusive economic zone of Japan.
This was announced by the Japanese Coast Guard, citing the Japanese Ministry of Defense, world agencies and Kyodo reported.
It is probably an intercontinental ballistic missile launched on a steep trajectory, Japanese government sources told the Kyodo news agency.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the cabinet would convene a meeting of the National Security Council. According to him, there is no evidence of damage from the launch of the rocket.
This is North Korea's 12th missile launch this year. Pyongyang last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in December 2023.
The South Korean military now says the missile was fired at around 10.10pm GMT on Wednesday night, or 7.10am local time in the direction of the Sea of Japan.
"The military has raised its alert level and is sharing information with Japanese and American authorities regarding the ballistic missile launched by North Korea," the South Korean General Staff said.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani stated that, taking into account the flight time of the missile launched today by North Korea, this is the longest flight of a North Korean missile recorded so far. "I think that maybe it is a missile that is different from a conventional missile," the minister added.
The launch came just hours after the US and South Korea called on Pyongyang to withdraw its military from Russia, where Washington says 10,000 North Koreans are stationed for possible use against Ukrainian forces.
The US condemned Pyongyang's new missile test and added that the North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile did not pose a threat to US military personnel in the region, US allies or US territory.