JAPANESE residents have been ordered to evacuate buildings or seek refuge underground after North Korea fired another ballistic missile on Tuesday morning.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the North Korean ballistic missile had been fired off its northern neighbour's east coast.
The Japanese government warned citizens to take cover after its coast guard reported on a suspected missile launch by North Korea.
A statement from the Japanese Prime Minister's Office warned residents to "evacuate inside a building or underground".
The Prime Minister's office issued the following statement on its official Twitter account: "The missile is believed to have been launched from North Korea. Evacuate inside a building or underground. Date and time received: 07:29 on the 4th Target area: Aomori Prefecture, Tokyo."
Trains were suspended.
The latest launch was Pyongyang's fifth launch in a week, amid military muscle-flexing by the United States and South Korea, which staged trilateral anti-submarine exercises last week with Japanese naval forces.
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The latest launch come after the navies of South Korea, the United States and Japan staged trilateral anti-submarine exercises on Friday for the first time in five years.
This follows US Vice-President Kamala Harris's visit to the demilitarised zone dividing the Koreas on 29 September.
Tuesday's alert resonated, meanwhile, across Japan.
An official statement from Ishikari City in Hokkaido prefecture in northern Japan has issued a statement on its official Twitter account, saying: "Civil Protection Information October 04, 07:27 announced Missile launch.
"The missile is believed to have been launched from North Korea. Evacuate inside a building or underground. Missile launch. Missile launch."
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The Twitter account only publishes information when there is a risk of disaster occurrence, or at time of disaster.
Footage also shows a message running on local TV ordering residents to evacuate and take shelter underground.
"North Korea appears to have launched a missile. Please evacuate to the inside of a building or go to the basement. Target area: Hokkaido," the message on the local TV read.
However, the missile is believed to have passed through the Pacific Ocean, missing the Japanese mainland.
The Japanese Prime Minister's Office later tweeted: "The aforementioned missile is believed to have passed through the Pacific Ocean around 07:29.
In an emergency media conference, the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed the missile had passed over northern Japan and had landed in the Pacific outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (Japanese waters).
Debris may have fallen in the northern Prefectures of Aomori or Hokkaido, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.
Matsuno said the launch threats Japan and the Japanese people.
The official said his government strongly objects to the North Korean missile launch, and will launch "severe protest" to Pyongyang.
The Office warned residents to take extra precautions in light of the incident.
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"If you find anything suspicious, do not approach it and immediately contact the police or fire department."
Earlier this month, Japan said it would resume evacuation drills for residents amid the uptick in North Korean launches.
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