North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters Wednesday, its neighbors said, two days after the North threatened "shocking" consequences to protest what it called a provocative U.S. reconnaissance activity near its territory.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the launch was made on Wednesday morning but gave no further details such as how far the weapon flew. Japan's Defense Ministry said it also detected a possible ballistic missile launch by North Korea. The launch, the North's first weapons firing in about a month, came after North Korea earlier this week released a series of statements accusing the United States of flying a military plane close to North Korea to spy on the North.