The government of South Korea’s capital mistakenly issued an emergency alert Wednesday instructing citizens to prepare for evacuation after North Korea launched a suspected space launch vehicle, said Yonhap News Agency.

The erroneous mobile phone alert was sent to all residents of Seoul at 6.41 a.m. (2141GMT Tuesday) but was retracted by the Interior Ministry at 7.03 a.m., said the agency.

At 6.29 a.m., the South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff observed a launch originating from Dongchang-ri on North Korea's west coast. The projectile traversed the waters west of South Korea's border island of Baengnyeong, according to Yonhap.

“Our military is trying to confirm whether it flew normally. While elevating its vigilance posture, our military, in close cooperation with the United States, is maintaining a full readiness posture,” said the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Earlier this week, North Korea informed Japan and the International Maritime Organization of its intention to launch a satellite sometime between May 31 and June 11.

According to reports, Japan briefly issued a rare emergency alert for Okinawa Prefecture. (Anadolu Agency)