The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss North Korea's ballistic missile launch at the request of South Korea, the United States and Japan, the foreign ministry here said.

"South Korea, the US and Japan jointly requested the convening of an emergency UNSC meeting and the meeting is scheduled to open on Tuesday afternoon in New York time," Cho June-hyuck, spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a press briefing.

He stressed North Korea's ballistic missile launch earlier in the day is a clear violation of UNSC resolutions.
 

"The South Korean government is closely discussing response measures with UNSC members including the US," he also said.

Chief envoys of South Korea, the US and Japan on North Korean nuclear issues also plan to hold telephone consultations later in the day to discuss the North Korean launch, he said.

But President Moon Jae-in has no plan to have a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump for now, according to Cho.

Earlier in the day, North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile from its capital Pyongyang, resuming a provocation despite warnings from South Korea, the US and the international community.

The missile flew over Japan before landing in the North Pacific Ocean; it is unusual for North Korea to fire a missile past Japan.

Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had an emergency phone conversation and agreed to step up their joint pressure on North Korea, according to Kyodo News. (Yonhap)