Leaders agreed to call for an emergency meeting of the UN security council to discuss the launch 
 
 Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe have vowed to increase pressure on North Korea after the regime launched a missile over Japan on Tuesday morning. 
 
 The Japanese prime minister denounced the launch as an “unprecedented and grave threat” to the country’s security. In a 40-minute phone call with the US president they agreed to call for an emergency meeting of the UN security council to discuss the situation. 
 
 
 
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 Officials in South Korea said the missile may have flown further than any other tested by North Korea. The test, one of the most provocative ever from the reclusive state, sent a clear message to Washington just weeks after Kim Jong-un threatened to target the US Pacific territory of Guam with similar intermediate-range missiles. 
 
 It also demonstrated the regime’s willingness to raise the diplomatic stakes by sending a missile directly over Japanese territory. Pyongyang has tested more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) this year, but Tuesday’s launch followed a much flatter trajectory than those tests. 
 
 Trump said the US was “100% with Japan” and repeated his strong commitment to the defence of Japan, Abe said shortly after the call. 
 
 
 
 “The outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages regional peace and security,” Abe told reporters in Tokyo, adding that his government had protested to Pyongyang via the Japanese embassy in Beijing. 
 
 The missile was the third fired by North Korea to have passed over Japanese territory. The first was in 1998 and the second in 2009, although Pyongyang claims they were satellites. 
 
 Abe said Japan would “strongly call for increased pressure on North Korea in cooperation with the international community” via the security council. 
 
 
 
 The missile, thought to be a new intermediate-range Hwasong-12, flew over Hokkaido and landed in the Pacific about 733 miles (1,180km) east of the northern Japanese island, South Korean and Japanese officials said. 
 
 The Hwasong-12 is the same type of missile North Korea recently threatened to launch towards Guam. 
 
 China called for restraint and warned that the situation on the Korean peninsular had reached “a tipping point approaching a crisis”. 
 
 Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily press briefing in Beijing: “Think hard about it, who do you think should take the blame, if China is urging all parties to calm down while one party holds constant military exercises … and the other is constantly launching missiles?” 
 
 Japan’s J-Alert warning system advised people across a large area of northern Japan to seek shelter. Japan’s self-defence forces did not attempt to shoot down the missile and there were no reports of damage from falling debris. 
 
 
 
 The public broadcaster NHK said the missile had been launched from a site near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang and passed over a sparsely populated area of Hokkaido just after 6am local time (10pm Monday British summer time). It broke into three parts and landed in the sea. 
 
 Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said the missile travelled about 2,700km and reached a maximum height of 550km. 
 
 The JCS said it was analysing the launch with the US and that South Korea’s military had strengthened its monitoring and preparation in case of further actions from North Korea. 
 
 Abe said his government was trying to establish the details of the launch and was doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the Japanese people. 
 
 Tuesday’s launch may have been a show of defiance towards military drills involving US and South Korean troops as well as a smaller number of personnel from other countries. 
 
 The drills have coincided with a dramatic rise in tensions on the Korean peninsula after North Korea’s test launch of two ICBMs and its threat to target seas off the coast of the Guam. 
 
 Seoul and Washington say their drills are an opportunity for the allies to improve their defensive capabilities but Pyongyang routinely denounces them as a dress rehearsal for war against North Korea. 
 
 On Tuesday North Korea’s ambassador to the UN said the joint exercises were driving the Korean peninsula towards “an extreme level of explosion”. 
 
 “Now that the US has openly declared its hostile intention towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, by waging aggressive joint military exercises despite repeated warnings … my country has every reason to respond with tough counter-measures as an exercise of its right to self defence,” Han Tae Song told the UN conference on disarmament, which is taking place in Geneva. 
 
 At the UN conference, multiple envoys, including those from the US, European Union, Japan and Australia took the floor to blast North Korea. “My hope is that North Korea ends this provocative behaviour,” US ambassador Robert Wood said. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest US soldiers during the annual US South Korea Ulchi-Freedom Guardian military exercises in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea. Photograph: Ahn Young-joon/AP 
 
 
 
 
 
 The latest launch came three days after the North fired what were assessed as three short-range ballistic missiles into the sea and a month after its second test flight of an ICBM that analysts say could theoretically reach the US mainland. 
 
 Tuesday’s missile landed nowhere near Guam, which is about 2,500km south of Tokyo, but it covered enough distance to suggest that North Korea could follow up on its threat to the US territory. 
 
 South Korea said it was launched from Sunan, the location of Pyongyang’s international airport, raising the possibility that a runway was used as the launchpad. 
 
 Several towns in Japan have held evacuation drills this year in anticipation of a North Korean attack and there has been a steep rise in sales of individual nuclear shelters. 
 
 
 
 After North Korea threatened to fire a volley of missiles towards Guam earlier this month, Japan deployed Patriot missile defence systems in areas along the missiles’ anticipated route. Japan also has an Aegis destroyer stationed in the Sea of Japan. 
 
 North Korea first fired a missile over Japanese territory in 1998, triggering widespread condemnation and attempts by Japan’s government to improve its missile defence systems. 
 
 Japan has in the past vowed to shoot down North Korean missiles or rockets that threaten to hit its territory. In 2009 a North Korean rocket passed over Japanese territory without incident, leading to an immediate denunciation by Japan. 
 
 At the time North Korea said it was launching a telecommunications satellite but Washington, Seoul and Tokyo believed Pyongyang was testing an ICBM. 
 
 Wang Zhen in Beijing and agencies contributed to this report ||||| Japan leads criticism as regime makes clear it considers 250-mile flight of Musudan medium-range weapon a success after five failures in a row 
 
 Kim Jong-un has boasted of North Korea’s “sure capability” to strike US targets in the Pacific after his military carried out an apparently successful test of its Musudan medium-range missile. 
 
 The North Korean leader, who personally monitored Wednesday’s missile tests, described the launch as a “great event” that vastly improved the North’s pre-emptive nuclear attack capability, according to the official KCNA news agency. 
 
 “We have the sure capability to attack in an overall and practical way the Americans in the Pacific operation theatre,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying. 
 
 Five previous Musudan tests ended in failure. But the second of two Musudans fired on Wednesday flew 250 miles (400km) – equivalent to half the distance to Japan’s main island of Honshu – before coming down in the Sea of Japan. 
 
 
 
 Tokyo expressed heightened concern about the military threat as the missile flew the longest distance to date for a Musudan. “The threat to Japan is intensifying,” said Gen Nakatani, Japan’s defence minister. 
 
 As the UN security council met to discuss its response, the American defence secretary, Ashton Carter, said the tests underlined the need for Washington and its allies to quickly deploy missile defence systems in the region. 
 
 
 
 “I don’t know whether it was successful. I don’t know what the test objectives were as seen by the North Koreans,” Carter told reporters in Kentucky. 
 
 “But for whatever reason, and with whatever level of success, this shows the need for us to continue to do what we’re doing, which is build these missile defences of various ranges to protect both our South Korean allies, US forces on the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and US territory.” 
 
 US officials said this month that plans for deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) system were moving ahead, and an announcement could be expected soon, despite Chinese opposition to the move. 
 
 The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, described the ballistic missile launches as a “brazen and irresponsible act” in defiance of security council resolutions banning North Korea from using ballistic missile technology. 
 
 
 
 North Korea’s “continued pursuit ... of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles will only undermine its security and fail to improve the lives of its citizens”, said Ban’s spokesman, Farhan Haq. 
 
 With a theoretical range of between 2,500km and 4,000km a fully operational Musudan would be able to reach targets that could include South Korea, Japan and the US Pacific territory of Guam. 
 
 
 
 The first missile launched on Wednesday flew about 90 miles before disintegrating, according to South Korean reports. 
 
 
 
 But Kim’s regime made clear it considered the second launch a success – a claim echoed by some experts who pointed out that the missile had reached an altitude of about 1,000km. 
 
 “We have to see it as a success,” Lee Choon-geun, an analyst at the Science and Technology Policy Institute in South Korea, said of the second launch. “No other [previous] missiles fired by North Korea have ever flown that high.” 
 
 
 
 Experts said North Korea appeared to have launched the second missile on an unusually high trajectory so that it would avoid violating Japanese air space. 
 
 
 
 The missiles would usually be test-fired at a flatter angle to maximise their range, according to Jeffrey Lewis at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California. “That suggests the missile worked perfectly,” he said. “Had it been fired at its normal angle, it would have flown to its full range.” 
 
 
 
 In April North Korea attempted unsuccessfully to launch three suspected Musudan missiles. All exploded in mid-air or crashed, according to South Korean defence officials. Late last month, North Korea had another suspected Musudan failure, South Korean officials said. 
 
 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest A news report on Seoul television about North Korea’s missile tests. Photograph: Lee Jin-man/AP 
 
 Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, condemned the launches: “We find it utterly unforgivable.” Japan would “respond to the situation through coordination with the United States and South Korea”, he said. 
 
 The South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, said repeated missile and nuclear tests had set North Korea on a dangerous path. 
 
 
 
 “The North Korean regime should realise that complete isolation and self-destruction await at the end of reckless provocation,” Park said. 
 
 The UN security council held an emergency meeting after the launches and the US ambassador, Samantha Power, called for “urgent and united condemnation”. 
 
 White House spokesman Josh Earnest said: “The impact of these provocations will be to only strengthen the resolve of the international community that has such serious concerns with North Korea’s behaviour. 
 
 “The United States will do what we have done in the past, which is work with the international community, particularly our allies in South Korea and Japan.” 
 
 
 
 Lewis, the missile expert, warned that North Korea would eventually iron out any technical problems with the Musudan and then use the lessons to increase the threat to the US. “If North Korea continues testing, eventually its missileers will use the same technology in a missile that can threaten the United States,” he said. 
 
 
 
 The launches demonstrate the determination of Kim Jong-un to defy UN security council resolutions banning North Korea from developing ballistic missile technology. The regime has also pressed ahead with nuclear tests despite international sanctions. 
 
 
 
 The UN security council, with the support of the North’s main diplomatic ally China, imposed new sanctions in March after Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test and launched a long-range rocket. 
 
 
 
 North Korea claimed the rocket was carrying an observation satellite, but the launches are seen as an opportunity for the state to test ballistic missile technology. 
 
 
 
 The regime is believed to have up to 30 Musudan missiles, which officials said were first deployed around 2007, although the North had never attempted to test-fire them until April this year. 
 
 
 
 With the Associated Press ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption A passer-by in Tokyo looks at a TV screen reporting news about North Korea's missile launch 
 
 North Korea has fired a ballistic missile across Japan, creating new tension in the region after its nuclear bomb test less than two weeks ago. 
 
 The missile reached an altitude of about 770km (478 miles), travelling 3,700km before landing in the sea off Hokkaido, South Korea's military says. 
 
 It flew higher and further than one fired over Japan late last month. 
 
 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his country would "never tolerate" such "dangerous provocative action". 
 
 South Korea responded within minutes by firing two ballistic missiles into the sea in a simulated strike on the North. 
 
 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also condemned the launch and the UN Security Council will meet later on Friday in New York at the request of the United States and Japan. 
 
 Why does this new test matter? 
 
 The launch took place from the Sunan district of the capital Pyongyang just before 07:00 local time (22:00 GMT on Thursday), South Korea's military says. 
 
 Sunan is home to Pyongyang International Airport, 24km north of the city centre. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption North Korea missile triggers Japan warning alarms 
 
 As with the last test on 29 August, the missile flew over Japan's northern Hokkaido island before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. There were no immediate reports of damage to aircraft or ships. 
 
 Sirens sounded across the region and text message alerts were sent out warning people to take cover. 
 
 Comparison of missile launches over Japan 15 September 29 August Distance travelled 3,700km (2,299 miles) 2,700km Maximum altitude 770km 550km Landing distance from Japan 2,200km 1,180km Flight duration 19 minutes 32 minutes Missile type Thought to be intermediate range missile Thought to be intermediate range Hwasong-12 
 
 Observers say it is likely to have been an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) though Japanese officials believe there is still a possibility it was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). 
 
 What is so alarming about the new launch is that the US Pacific territory of Guam, which North Korea says it has plans to fire missiles towards, is 3,400km from Pyongyang, putting it within range of the latest missile. 
 
 Sanctions on the North were tightened this week in response to its sixth nuclear test on 3 September, which reportedly involved a miniaturised hydrogen bomb that could be loaded on to a long-range missile. 
 
 How will the international community respond? 
 
 After the latest round of sanctions, it is not clear what other course of action is open to the UN Security Council. 
 
 Only on Monday, the Security Council voted unanimously to restrict oil imports and ban textile exports, in an attempt to starve the North of fuel and income for its weapons programmes. 
 
 Mr Tillerson put the burden of response to the latest test on China and Russia, the North's main economic partners. 
 
 They "must indicate their intolerance for these reckless missile launches by taking direct actions of their own", he said. 
 
 He said that China supplied North Korea with most of its oil, while Russia was the largest employer of North Korean forced labour. 
 
 What was the reaction from China and Russia? 
 
 Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said her country was not the "focal point of the conflict". 
 
 "The various directly involved parties should take responsibility," she added, in remarks that appeared aimed at the US and South Korea. "Any attempt to wash their hands of the issue is irresponsible." 
 
 Ms Hua called for a peaceful solution "through formal diplomatic means". 
 
 Russia's foreign ministry condemned North Korea's "illegal" test, but added: "Regrettably, aggressive rhetoric is the only thing coming from Washington." 
 
 Have North Korea's missile tests paid off? 
 
 How is South Korea responding? 
 
 In South Korea, President Moon Jae-in held an emergency meeting of his national security council, where he said that dialogue with the North was "impossible in a situation like this". 
 
 Image copyright EPA Image caption South Korea tested missiles in response to the North's new launch 
 
 Officials have been ordered to prepare for possible North Korean chemical, biological and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks, a presidential spokesman said. 
 
 North Korea has said it has bombs capable of sending EMP shock waves, which would disrupt power supplies, although the claim has been greeted with some scepticism. 
 
 The country does have an extensive chemical arsenal and may also have biological weapons. 
 
 Why is the North acting like this? 
 
 It insists it needs a nuclear-weapons programme to ensure its survival and there has been no let-up in its fiery rhetoric. 
 
 On Thursday, it threatened to "sink Japan and turn America to ashes". 
 
 Image copyright Reuters/KCNA Image caption North Korea said in early September that it had tested a "missile-ready" hydrogen bomb 
 
 A commentary in North Korea's state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper after the missile launch accuses the US and South Korea of conducting "ceaseless" exercises as a provocation. 
 
 North Korea's missile programme 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How could war with North Korea unfold? 
 
 Pyongyang has been developing weapons, initially based on the Soviet-developed Scud, for decades 
 
 Conducted short and medium-range missile tests on many occasions, sometimes to mark domestic events or periods of regional tension 
 
 Pace of tests has increased in recent months; experts say North Korea appears to be making significant advances towards building a reliable long-range nuclear-capable weapon 
 
 On 3 September, North Korea said it tested a hydrogen bomb that could be miniaturised and loaded on a long-range missile 
 
 Pushing the envelope 
 
 Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC News, Tokyo 
 
 Image copyright KCNA Image caption North Korea's rocket launch last month was described by Japan as an "unprecedented threat" 
 
 This test came as a surprise to nobody. 
 
 North Korea is steadily proceeding down the path to full ICBM capability. To do that, it needs to test-fire its projectiles - every other missile-armed nation has done the same. 
 
 It started earlier this year by firing its new longer-range Hwasong missiles into the Sea of Japan, then flew one over Hokkaido in August. Next it tested a powerful nuclear device, which it claims it can put on a missile. 
 
 Now it has tested another intermediate range missile at longer range and higher altitude. 
 
 The next step will almost certainly be a test of the Hwasong-14 ICBM over Japan and far out into the Pacific. 
 
 The aim of all this is to develop and deploy a reliable missile that can hit the mainland US.
– North Korea is not only continuing to defy international warnings to stop testing ballistic missiles, it's starting to get pretty good at launching them. Relatively speaking, anyway: Pyongyang launched two intermediate-range Musudan missiles in the direction of Japan on Wednesday, reports the BBC. The first one flopped almost immediately, just like four previous launches. But the second one reached an altitude of about 620 miles before plunging into the sea, raising concern in both South Korea and Japan, reports Reuters. The missile also covered about 250 miles, getting more than halfway to Japan's coast. The BBC notes the missile's range is much further; it's unclear whether it fell short due to failure or was intentionally kept from reaching Japan. "This is a very important milestone because the previous launches had blown up either very shortly after launch or possibly even right at launch," an analyst at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California tells the Voice of America. "So this is a real sign of progress." Japan's defense chief put it more succinctly: "The threat to Japan is intensifying." South Korea and the US are still assessing the test, but South Korean President Park Geun-hye denounced the "reckless provocation." UN resolutions forbid the North from working on ballistic missile technology, notes the BBC, but the launches suggest that Pyongyang is having little trouble obtaining the technology and the know-how.