Seoul, South Korea – North Korea continued its ballistic missile testing early this morning, launching a projectile which landed in waters off the coast of Japan. The launch comes just hours after the Japanese government sounded its alarm system prompting residents of Hokkaido to take cover, only to retract it later.

South Korean officials confirmed that the missile was fired from North Korea’s Kusong region and travelled a distance of 500 kilometers before landing in the sea. This is the fourth missile launched by North Korea in the past few weeks, with the previous one being fired just ten days ago.

The missile launch has sparked confusion and heightened tensions in Japan, which has been on alert for possible missile attacks by North Korea. In response to today’s test, the Japanese government called for false alarm evacuations in the Hokkaido region. However, they retracted the warning once it was confirmed that the missile did not pose a direct threat to the country.

Meanwhile, the international community has expressed their concerns over the continued missile tests by North Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-in condemned the test in a statement, calling it a “provocation” that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions.

This latest missile launch is sure to further aggravate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and raise concerns about the possibility of military conflict. The situation remains tense, with both North and South Korea still technically at war since the Korean War ended in 1953 without a formal peace treaty.