North Korea fires ballistic missile, South Korea says

Seoul, South Korea CNN  — 

North Korea fired a ballistic missile into waters off its east coast on Thursday, prompting an evacuation order that was later lifted in northern Japan.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired one mid-range or longer ballistic missile from near Pyongyang into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula at around 7:23 a.m. local time Thursday.

Japan’s government initially urged residents in the country’s northern prefecture of Hokkaido to take shelter after the North Korean launch.

The Japanese Coast Guard later said it believed there was no longer a possibility of the missile falling on Hokkaido or its surroundings.

“The ballistic missile is believed to have already fallen,” said the Coast Guard, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing information from the Ministry of Defense.

Japan has previously warned civilians to shelter in place during similar test launches.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.