North Korea fired a missile into the Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan Thursday morning, NHK reported, citing statements by Seoul and Tokyo officials..

Japan was forced to raise an alarm and urge residents to move to shelters due to the risk of a possible ballistic missile falling near the island of Hokkaido around 8 am local time.

A ballistic missile was launched off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.. Officials believe there may have been multiple missiles.

According to the publication, at 8. At 19:00, the Japanese Coast Guard announced that there was no threat of a missile falling in the Hokkaido area, since " Information on casualties and destruction is not yet available..

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The launch comes two days after North Korea's state media KCNA reported that leader Kim Jong-un called for greater war deterrence in the country in a "

North Korea has expressed dissatisfaction with the recent series of joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, calling them an escalation of tension and stepping up weapons testing..

North Korea fails to answer South Korea's daily calls via inter-Korean communication channel for six consecutive days. Seoul's call to open talks over military lines of communication also went unanswered..