North Korea may have fired a short-range missile into the East Sea Sunday morning.

Japan's Kyodo News Agency and NHK broadcaster quoted unidentified government sources as saying the U-S military informed Tokyo's defense agency of the possible missile launch.

NHK said the North is believed to have fired the missile into the waters off the peninsula and it may have traveled some 100 kilometers.

Seoul's Defense Ministry is trying to confirm the reports.

The U-S embassy in Tokyo said it cannot comment on intelligence matters while an official at the Japanese defense agency refused to confirm the reports to the Associated Press.