SEOUL/ROME: North Korea fired a ballistic missile from an area including Pyongyang Sunan International Airport toward the Sea of Japan on Wednesday, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The missile is believed to have fallen into waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone after traveling about 500 kilometers while reaching the maximum altitude of about 800 kilometers, according to Makoto Oniki, Japanese state minister of defense.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is on a visit to Europe, told reporters in Rome that the missile launch is “absolutely unacceptable” as it threatened “peace, safety and stability in the region and the international community.”

“We’ll do everything for the safety of the people (of Japan) while continuing to cooperate with the United States and others,” Kishida said.

Following the missile firing, Tokyo made a protest to Pyongyang through its embassy in Beijing.

The North Korean missile firing came ahead of the launch on Tuesday next week of South Korea’s new administration led by Yoon Suk-yeol, who won the March 9 presidential election, and a summit between Yoon and US President Joe Biden set for March 21.

Since the beginning of this year, North Korea has test-fired various missiles. It launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on March 24 and a “tactical guided weapon” on April 16.

In his speech on April 25, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un suggested that his regime would not hesitate to conduct a pre-emptive attack using a tactical nuclear weapon.

JIJI Press