Japan public broadcaster NHK, The Washington Post, Associated Press, MSNBC and numerous other sources report North Korea launched a ballistic missile Tuesday morning that flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.The government issued an alert for residents in some prefectures to take cover.
Although North Korea has sent a missile over Japan once before – in 1998 – this launch comes at a time of heightened tensions.
Pyongyang has been threatening to fire a missile over Japan and into the waters around Guam.
The missile appears to have landed in the sea, but it was not immediately clear where.