The presidential National Security Council (NSC) of South Korea "strongly" denounced North Korea's launch of an intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile Thursday.

The NSC held a meeting led by National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong to discuss what South Korea's military described as an intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile launch earlier in the day.

"The NSC standing members noted that North Korea's missile launch constitutes a grave violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a serious provocation heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region," the South Korean presidential office said in a press release.

The press release added that the NSC "strongly denounced the launch of a ballistic missile of at least intermediate range following the long-range ballistic missile launches in February and March," according to (Yonhap) news agency.

In Tokyo, the Japanese government initially issued a J-Alert warning that urged Hokkaido residents to take shelter as the missile was likely to land in the vicinity of the region, but it was later retracted through a separate alert system, (Kyodo) news agency said.

"Evacuate immediately. Evacuate immediately," the J-Alert warning said, urging residents of Hokkaido to take shelter in a building or underground.

According to (NHK World), Japan's government used its emergency information network systems to issue an alert and a notice that one of several missiles fired by North Korea could land in the waters around Hokkaido.

Twenty minutes later, it issued a notice with a different network system, that there was no longer a possibility of that happening.

Japan's Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters the missile, which was fired eastward from North Korea at a high angle, did not fall within Japan's territory or exclusive economic zone.

Source: Qatar News Agency