TOKYO - North Korea fired a ballistic missile eastward Wednesday morning that is believed to have fallen outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, the Japanese Defense Ministry said.
The missile was launched at around 5:59 a.m. from an area near North Korea's eastern coast and traveled approximately 690 kilometers, with a maximum altitude of about 90 km, the ministry said. No damage or injuries have been reported.
The ministry added that Japan, the United States and South Korea are closely coordinating their analyses of the launch.
Condemning the missile launch, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters that Japan had lodged a strong protest with Pyongyang.
"North Korea's ballistic missile launches violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, and its actions pose a threat to the peace and security of Japan, the region and the international community," Koizumi said.
North Korea also fired a ballistic missile last Thursday toward the Sea of Japan, but it did not fall within Japan's EEZ, the Defense Ministry said at the time.
The missile launches by North Korea come as the United States and South Korea are gearing up for their regular Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise later this month.
Senior foreign ministry officials of Japan, South Korea and the United States held phone talks on Wednesday, reaffirming that North Korea's ballistic missile launch violates relevant Security Council resolutions.
They called on North Korea to cease such provocative actions that threaten regional and international peace and security. U.N. Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from conducting launches using ballistic missile technology.
Separately, Japan, the United States and 39 other countries said in a joint statement Tuesday, Washington time, that those launching intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles or space launch vehicles should give notice "no less than 24 hours in advance."
The statement stopped short of naming any specific country, but its release came after China test-fired a strategic missile carrying a mock warhead from a nuclear-powered submarine into international waters in the Pacific on July 6.
"Recent missile testing activity in the Pacific area did not follow the standard practices adopted by most states to notify and deconflict ICBM, SLBM, and SLV launches," the statement said.
It warned that testing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles without sufficient advance notice and detail is "dangerous" and "undermines global stability and security."
