Japan’s defense ministry reportedly said that a ballistic missile launched by North Korea on Sunday appears to have fallen into waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone(EEZ).

According to Japan’s Kyodo News and NHK, the ministry said on Sunday that the North fired the missile toward the East Sea, and the missile flew at least 500 kilometers at a maximum altitude of over 50 kilometers before falling into waters outside the EEZ.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the missile flew about one thousand kilometers before splashing into the East Sea. 

The South Korean military suspects the test-fire was of an intermediate-range ballistic missile(IRBM) with a range of three thousand to 55-hundred kilometers, given that the North claimed in mid-November it had successfully tested solid-fuel engines for a new IRBM. 

The Japanese government said it had lodged a stern protest with North Korea over the latest missile launch, calling it a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and condemning the action as threatening the peace and safety of Japan, the region and the international community. 

Sunday marks the first ballistic missile provocation this year from the reclusive state. The launch comes 27 days after the previous provocation on December 18 of last year.