The Japanese government has protested against the launch of a ballistic missile fired by North Korea today, Japanese Defense Minister Makoto Oniki told reporters.

He noted that the missile has a range of 500 km and a maximum altitude of 800 km. He said the ministry was still analyzing the data to find out what kind of missile it was.

The recent release poses a serious threat to the Japanese security, Oniki said, adding that they had complained to North Korea through the embassy in Beijing.