An order to take shelter for residents of Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido has been lifted after the possibility of a North Korean missile landing in or around the territory was ruled out.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported earlier on Thursday that 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.

According to NHK, the Japanese Coast Guard issued a statement at 8:19 a.m., reporting that the missile had already fallen.

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.