China's top diplomat arrived in Japan on Monday for a three-day trip, hours after North Korea fired a ballistic missile that is believed to have fallen in Japan's exclusive economic zone, the Japanese government said.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who occupies a post equivalent to a deputy prime minister and superior to foreign minister, is expected to discuss with Japanese officials how to deal with Pyongyang.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said during a parliamentary session that he plans to ask during his meeting with Yang for strengthened cooperation between Tokyo and Beijing in tackling issues related to North Korea.

Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that he will meet with Yang on Tuesday, saying Beijing has a "very important" role in applying pressure on North Korea, which is continuing to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

On Monday, Yang, who last came to Japan in October 2015, is planning to meet with Shotaro Yachi, head of the secretariat of Japan's National Security Council. China is North Korea's primary economic and diplomatic benefactor.

China has sought the resumption of talks between North Korea and five other countries aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, but Kishida has expressed caution, saying, "Dialogue for dialogue's sake is meaningless."

The missile was fired from the city of Wonsan on North Korea's eastern coast around 5:40 a.m. and flew around 400 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference.

During his visit to Tokyo, Yang is also likely to lay the groundwork with Japanese officials for a potential summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders' meeting in Germany in July.

It would be Abe and Xi's first sit-down since their meeting in November last year in Peru.

The uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, controlled by Japan but claimed by China, may also be on the agenda during Yang's visit. Chinese vessels have repeatedly sailed near the isles, which China calls Diaoyu.

Yang's visit will take place as the two countries this year mark the 45th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties.