Pyongyang/Tokyo/UNI: North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan on Thursday, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing the South Korean military.

According to the report, the launch came amid the ongoing South Korea-US Freedom Shield exercise, which Pyongyang slammed as "preparations for a war of aggression" against it.

The launch came just hours before the meeting of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo to discuss North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and other shared challenges.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has confirmed the launch of the suspected ballistic missile by North Korea.