North Korea notified foreign diplomats from several countries of its plan to launch a missile over Japan toward the Pacific Ocean around Wednesday, the Sankei Shimbun reported citing informed sources.

The North on Friday urged foreign embassies to evacuate their missions in Pyongyang, saying it cannot guarantee the safety of staff.

South Korea believes the North may test a Mudusan-type missile with a range of 3,000 to 4,000 km as early as Tuesday, given that communication on the east coast has been on the increase.