North Korea Launches Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Near Japan's Coast

North Korea reportedly launched a ballistic missile that flew for 45 minutes and may have landed within 230 miles of Japan’s coast Friday, according to reports.

The Pentagon confirmed the United States detected the missile launch at approximately 10:45 a.m. EST, what would have been shortly before midnight in Japanese time. The type of missile launched has not been confirmed, but it is possible the latest in a series of attempts to develop a missile was capable of reaching the United States.

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the missile may have landed within 230 miles of Japan’s coast. He called for an emergency meeting of government officials.

“I have received the first report that North Korea again launched a missile and it possibly landed inside the exclusive economic zone,” Abe told Japanese broadcaster Nippon Hoso Kyokai.

North Korea did not immediately confirm the launch.

According to a South Korean military official, North Korea fired a projectile into the East Sea, which is part of the Sea of Japan, reported NBC News. It was fired from North Korea’s Jagang province, reported South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

“We detected a launch of a ballistic missile from North Korea. We are assessing and will have more information soon,” Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Christopher Logan said to CNBC in an email.

The last missile launch North Korea conducted occurred July 4.

“It is clear, based on [the ICBM launch] over the July 4 weekend, that North Korea has advanced significantly and quicker than many had expected,” General Mark Milley, chief of staff of the US Army, said to the National Press Club Thursday. “A War on the Korean peninsula would be highly deadly. It would be horrific.”

“The United States military with the South Korean military, would utterly destroy the North Korean military — but that would be done at high cost in terms of human life,” he added.

Read: North Korea's Kim Jong Un Celebrates Missile Launch With Banquet

The July 4 missile flew to a height of 1,741 miles and landed 577 miles from the launch site, appearing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the missile could have flown 4,970 miles if fired on a maximized range trajectory. That would put Hawaii and Alaska at risk.

According to a U.S. official aware of the latest intelligence developments, the U.S. predicted North Korea would have the capability to launch a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by early 2018. This would be two years sooner than previous estimates.