North Korea declares itself a nuclear weapons state 0:59
(CNN) --
North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile in an apparent trajectory over Japan Tuesday morning local time, according to regional officials.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the launch.
According to a tweet posted by Japan's prime minister's office, "the projectile is believed to have been launched" over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, marking a possible escalation for North Korean missile launches.
The tweet urged people to take shelter inside a building or underground.
"The aforementioned missile is believed to have crossed the Pacific Ocean at around 07:29am JST," the prime minister's office said in another tweet.
The same statement urged civilians in Japan to "not approach anything suspicious that is found and immediately contact the police or fire department."
By CNN's tally, Tuesday's launch is North Korea's 23rd missile launch this year, including ballistic and cruise missiles.
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However, releases over Japan are rare;
The last time North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japanese territory was on September 15, 2017, when the projectile flew over the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan.
Yoonjung Seo reported from Seoul and Emiko Jozuka from Tokyo.
Missile