The U.S. Strategic Command said Saturday it detected North Korea's missile launch at 9:29 a.m. Korean time.

"U.S. Strategic Command systems detected and tracked what we assess was a North Korean missile launch into space at 6:29 p.m.

CST (central standard time)," the command said in a statement. "The missile was tracked on a southerly launch over the Yellow Sea."

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) "determined that at no time was the missile a threat to North America," the statement said.

The U.S. remains "vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and are fully committed to working closely with our Republic of Korea and Japanese allies to maintain security," the statement said.(Yonhap)