North Korea fires missile into Sea of Japan as US sends third aircraft carrier into region in warning to Kim Jong Un

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile from its east coast.

The missile was fired from the region of Wonsan in an easterly direction into the Sea of Japan, South Korea's military said.

The launch was immediately reported to President Moon Jae-in, who called a meeting of the National Security Council, the South Korean office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. 

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday condemned North Korea's latest missile launch and vowed action along with other nations to deter Pyongyang's repeated provocations.

'As we agreed at the recent G7, the issue of North Korea is a top priority for the international community,' Abe told reporters in brief televised remarks. 

'Working with the United States, we will take specific action to deter North Korea.'

Abe said Japan will make utmost efforts to protect its people, while staying in close touch with South Korea and other countries.

The US Pacific Command said the short-range missile, launched from near Wonsan Airfield, was tracked for six minutes until it landed in the Sea of Japan.

It was not deemed a threat to North America. The command said it was working on a more detailed assessment of the missile launch.

'We continue to monitor North Korea's actions closely,' PACOM said in a statement.

'US Pacific Command stands behind our ironclad commitment to the security of our allies in the Republic of Korea and Japan,' it added. 

It comes after reports emerged that the United States is sending a third aircraft carrier to the western Pacific region in an apparent warning to North Korea.

The USS Nimitz, one of the world's largest warships, will join two other supercarriers, the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan, in the western Pacific, the sources told VOA.

The move is extremely rare for the US military, who rarely send three aircraft carriers to the same region.  

Earlier today it emerged that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un  supervised the test of a new anti-aircraft weapon system and ordered its mass production and deployment throughout the country, after weeks of defiant ballistic missile tests.