North Korea has fired an unidentified ballistic missile, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea confirmed late Tuesday as Japanese media said the missile may have landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The missile was fired from South Pyongan province, South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported.

According to the agency, the projectile flew eastwards.

The Pentagon confirmed the reports and said that it had detected a "probable" missile launch from North Korea.

"We detected a probable missile launch from North Korea. We are in the process of assessing the situation and will provide additional details when available," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Robert Manning told reporters.

After firing missiles at a rate of about two or three a month since April, North Korea paused its missile launches in late September, after it fired a missile that passed over Japan's northern Hokkaido island on Sept. 15.

Last week, North Korea denounced U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to relist it as a state sponsor of terrorism, calling it a "serious provocation and violent infringement."

The designation allows the United States to impose more sanctions, though some experts said it risked inflaming tensions.

Trump has traded insults and threats with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and warned in his maiden speech to the United Nations in September that the United States would have no choice but to "totally destroy" North Korea if forced to defend itself or its allies.

Washington has said repeatedly that all options are on the table in dealing with North Korea, including military ones, but that it prefers a peaceful solution by Pyongyang agreeing to give up its nuclear and missile programs.

To this end, Trump has pursued a policy of encouraging countries around the world, including North Korea's main ally and neighbor, China, to step up sanctions on Pyongyang to persuade it to give up its weapons programs.

North Korea has given no indication that it is willing to re-enter dialogue on those terms.