South Korean Defence Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok told reporters Friday morning that North Korea's internationally opposed rocket has been fired at 07:39 local time today, BBC reports.

The Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council had imposed "no fly, no sail, and no fishing" in Luzon Thursday, lifted it around 1 p.m. and place it back again on Friday.

All vessels on air and at sea have been advised to take alternate routes while the Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy conduct safety operation procedures in relation to the rocket launch.

Debris from North Korea's rocket launch are expected to plummet into the Philippine territory, particularly within the 590 square kilometer rectangular "exclusionary zone" 190 kilometers east of Cagayan Valley province in Northern Luzon.

In the event that the debris veered off the projected path, the Philippines has only three to four hours to react, according to Maximo Sacro Jr., one of the founders of the Philippine Astronomical Society.

The North Korean time zone is ahead by one hour in the Philippines, and news of the launch spread only an hour later in foreign media.

North Korea had earlier said it would launch its rocket anytime between 7 a.m. and 12 noon, which is anytime between 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Philippine time between April 12 and 16.

UPDATE: CNN reported the rocket has broken apart before making it into space, according to U.S. officials.

Victor Cha, former director of Asian affairs for the U.S. National Security Council and now a Georgetown University professor, told CNN the failure must be very embarrassing for North Korea.

"This was supposed to be associated with (Kim Jong Un's) ascension to power. So for this thing to fail ... is incredibly embarrassing," he told CNN.

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