The launch came as Pyongyang marks the anniversary of the death of the father of ruler Kim Jong Un and his predecessor Kim Jong Il.

South Korea has accused the North of firing a short-range ballistic missile amid tensions on the peninsula.

Sunday’s launch came as North Korea condemned the U.S.-led military’s displays of force, including the arrival of a submarine in South Korea, as a “preview of nuclear war.”

The missile was fired from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea at around 10:38 p.m. (1:38 p.m. GMT) on Sunday and traveled about 570 km (354 miles) before falling into the sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said (JCS) and refers to the body of water also known as the Sea of ​​Japan.

The launch followed warnings from officials in Seoul and Tokyo that nuclear-armed North Korea was preparing to test-fire a missile this month, including one of its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Japan’s defense ministry also said North Korea had “fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile,” and the coast guard added that it appeared to have already crashed.

JCS said Seoul, Washington and Tokyo “closely exchanged information” about North Korea’s ballistic missile, which was launched two days after the second meeting of the U.S.-South Korea Nuclear Advisory Group in Washington on Friday, where they discussed nuclear deterrence in case of conflict with the north.

A North Korean Defense Ministry spokesman on Sunday criticized allies’ plans to add a nuclear operations exercise to a key annual joint military exercise next year, warning of “a pre-emptive and lethal backlash.”

“This is an open declaration of nuclear confrontation to make the use of nuclear weapons against the DPRK a fait accompli,” the statement read, carried by KCNA news agency, using the official acronym for North Korea.

“Any attempt to use military forces against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will face a pre-emptive and lethal backlash.”

All North Korean ballistic missile activities are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions, although Pyongyang defends them as its sovereign right to self-defense.

The rocket launch also came as Pyongyang marks the anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong Un’s father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, who died on December 17, 2011.

North Korea declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power last year and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear program because the regime sees it as vital to its survival.

Last month, Pyongyang successfully launched one Military spy satellite into orbit. It has since claimed that its eye in the sky has already provided images of key US and South Korean military sites.

Since the first nuclear test in 2006, the UN Security Council has passed numerous resolutions calling on North Korea to end its nuclear and missile programs.

Washington and its allies have also raised concerns about a possible arms alliance between North Korea and Russia.

They fear Kim is providing much-needed munitions to help Russian President Vladimir Putin wage the war in Ukraine in return for Russian technological help to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.