Japan Warns Citizens to Shelter After Reports North Korean Missile Fired

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North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Tuesday that reportedly passed over Japan at around 7.29 a.m. local time, according to Japanese officials. South Korea also reported observing North Korea firing a missile.

The Japanese government issued alerts warning citizens in the Hokkaido and Aomori prefectures to take shelter amid reports of a suspected missile launch. Japanese citizens were warned to monitor the news for updates.

The American Citizen Services section of U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, which provides information to U.S. citizens in Japan, shared the alert on Twitter.

“The Japanese government is warning that North Korea appears to have launched at least one ballistic missile. There’s a possibility it’s heading toward Japan. The government is urging everyone in the country to monitor news media,” it said.

The Japanese Coast Guard said in an update at 7:46 a.m. that, according to the Ministry of Defense, “a ballistic missile may have already fallen” into the Pacific Ocean.

The latest launch was Pyongyang’s fifth launch in a week, with the United States and South Korea responding with military drills in the region, including staged trilateral anti-submarine exercises last week with Japanese naval forces.

The Japan government said that vessels are underway to retrieve anything that remains of the missile.

This is a developing story.