North Korea has fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over northern Japan.
The Japanese government issued a warning to residents of the island of Hokkaido to seek cover, and some railway operations were temporarily halted.
It is North Korea’s first missile launch over Japan since 2017.
The United Nations forbids North Korea from conducting missile and nuclear weapons tests.
“North Korea appears to have launched a missile. Please evacuate into buildings or underground,” the Japanese government said in a rare alert issued at 07:29 local time on Tuesday (22:29 GMT Monday).
Officials said the missile landed in the Pacific Ocean around 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) from Japan, with no injuries reported.
Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, sharply criticized the activities, calling the launch “violent behavior,” and the Japanese government convened its National Security Council.
The launch appears to be a deliberate escalation aimed at drawing the attention of Japan and the United States, who have mostly ignored North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Nonetheless, it is significant. Flying missiles towards or over other nations without prior warning or consultation clearly violates international rules. Most governments avoid doing it entirely since it might easily be misinterpreted as an attack.
It is not as significant as a nuclear test that may follow. However, it is quite provocative.
The US has replied, with Daniel Kritenbrink, the senior US ambassador for East Asia, calling North Korea’s choice “unfortunate.”
Pyongyang has launched five missiles in the last week.
On Saturday, two rockets were shot down in waters beyond Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
In September, North Korea declared itself a nuclear weapons state, with leader Kim Jong-un shutting out the idea of denuclearisation discussions.
Pyongyang conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017, despite international sanctions.