The Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said on Thursday that North Korea fired an intermediate-range or longer ballistic missile from near Pyongyang toward the East Sea earlier in the day.

The South Korean military is working on analyzing the details of the launch, including the type of missile and flight distance.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported that the launch prompted an order to take shelter for the country's northernmost island of Hokkaido, but the warning was later retracted after the Japanese Coast Guard reported at 8:19 a.m. that the missile had already fallen.

The latest missile launch comes amid the continued refusal by North Korea to respond to regular contact through inter-Korean communication lines that began last Friday.

It also came two days after the North Korean media reported that leader Kim Jong-un stressed the need to reinforce the country's war deterrence with increasing speed in a "more practical and offensive" manner.

The latest ballistic missile launch, coming 17 days after the firing of short-range ballistic missiles, marks the ninth ballistic missile launch this year.

[Photo : YONHAP News]