North Korea on Monday said its attempt to put another spy satellite into orbit has failed as a rocket carrying it exploded in mid-air, state-run media said.

This came hours after Japan said Pyongyang launched a suspected ballistic missile.

Japan's J-Alert early warning system detected that North Korea had apparently fired a missile and the country issued an evacuation order for residents in the Okinawa Prefecture in the south, according to the Tokyo-based Kyodo News Agency.

The South Korean military also said that Pyongyang fired an unidentified projectile southward over the Yellow Sea. It confirmed noticing wreckage of the purported rocket.