North Korea has fired a ballistic missile from its western region, reports BBC quoting Japanese and South Korean authorities.

The missile was launched at 09:40 local time (00:40 GMT), from Banghyon in North Pyongan Province, reported Yonhap news agency citing South Korea's military.

Tokyo said the missile may have landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan.

North Korea has increased the frequency of its nuclear and missile tests in recent months raising tensions.

The missile launched on Tuesday (July 4) travelled about 930km (578 miles) and flew for about 40 minutes, according to South Korean and Japanese authorities.

This is the 11th detected missile launch this year, but its range seems much greater, says the BBC's Stephen Evans in Seoul.

North Korea last test-launched missiles in May. It fired projectiles on two separate occasions, both towards the Sea of Japan.

Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters: "North Korea's repeated provocations like this are absolutely unacceptable. We lodged a strong protest and condemned it."

South Korea's recently-elected President Moon Jae-in has called for an emergency meeting of the country's security council.

Moon also met with US President Donald Trump last week, with the US leader warning Pyongyang of a "determined response".

The launch comes a day after Trump spoke on the phone separately with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China's President Xi Jinping about North Korea.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearised Korean Peninsula.

BDST: 1021 HRS, JUL 04, 2017
SI