Residents in the Japanese city of Yokohama came in for a shock earlier today after city officials mistakenly posted a tweet stating that North Korea had launched a missile. According to ABC News, the city posted the tweet around noon local time, exclaiming "North Korea has launched a missile," sharing it with @yokohama_saigai's 40,000 followers for around 20 minutes.

"North Korea has launched a missile."

Receiving worried calls from local followers, the city deleted its tweet and was forced to admit its mistake. Correcting its error with a new tweet, the city has seen its apology receive over 3,000 retweets in the past eight hours. Following the announcement that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had authorized a nuclear attack against the US last week, tensions have been raised in Washington and across the globe. South Korean news agencies have confirmed that North Korea could launch a mid-range ballistic missile "at any time."

US and South Korean intelligence suggests the missile has a range of 3,500 kilometers and is capable of reaching the US territory of Guam. However, the Pentagon has already announced plans to deploy an advanced missile defense system in the country, in a "precautionary" attempt to safeguard its interests in the region. Despite Yokohama's Twitter mistake, Japan is on high alert and has readied Patriot missiles in Tokyo to safeguard citizens from a potential North Korean attack. It has also deployed destroyers loaded with interceptor missiles, joining US and South Korean ships in the Sea of Japan.