The Japanese government reportedly ordered residents of its northernmost island of Hokkaido to take shelter in response to a North Korean missile expected to fall near the island.

According to Japan's NHK on Thursday, the Japanese government issued the warning through its J-Alert system, saying that the missile was likely to fall near the island at around 8 a.m. and urging residents to immediately seek shelter inside buildings or underground.

Japan's Kyodo News quoted a Japanese government official as saying that the missile appears to have landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone(EEZ).

The Tokyo government has reportedly convened an emergency meeting attended by officials from relevant ministries at the crisis management center in the Prime Minister's Office to collect information on the missile launch and check for damage.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff also said that North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday morning.