Seoul: North Korea on Monday, April 22, fired a ballistic missile towards its eastern water, the South Korean military said.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the launch occurred but no other details were made available.

Following this recent weapons launch by North Korea, Japan issued an alert.

This comes as on the weekend, North Korea announced that it tested a "super-large" cruise missile warhead and a new anti-aircraft missile in a western coastal area.

Some experts anticipated that North Korea could launch major provocations such as a banned satellite launch this month to mark key state anniversaries like the April 15 birthday of state founder Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of Kim Jong Un, and the April 25 founding anniversary of a predecessor of the North's military.

The South Korean military further said it has detected evidence that North Korea is preparing for its second spy satellite launch but as of now no such sign has been imminent.

(Inputs from AP)