The US and Korea have launched two munition bombs in response to North Korea firing a missile over Japan.
Yesterday, North Korea fired a possible intercontinental ballistic missile off its east coast on Tuesday with Japanese authorities issuing an urgent warning for people to evacuate buildings and take shelter.
The rocket fell into the Pacific Ocean having flown over Japan and may have been an intercontinental ballistic missile, said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol warned of a "resolute" response.
Officials in Tokyo and Seoul said the missile flew between 4,500 to 4,600 kilometres to a maximum altitude of about 1,000 km.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has condemned the actions calling it "barbaric". Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that the missile is likely to have flown over Japan and landed outside of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
A National Security Committee meeting is to be held by the Japanese government.
The test prompted East Japan Railway Co to suspend its train operations in the northern regions, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
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KIMIMASA MAYAMA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Japan said it did not use any defence measures to destroy the missile, which was the first to fly over or past Japan from North Korea since 2017.
"North Korea's series of actions, including its repeated ballistic missile launches, threatens the peace and security of Japan, the region, and the international community, and poses a serious challenge to the entire international community, including Japan," Matsuno, said in a brief news conference.
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Getty Images)South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the ballistic missile launch off their neighbour's east coast.
The Japanese government warned citizens to take cover after its coast guard reported a suspected missile launch by North Korea.
An emergency tweet by Ishikari City, Hokkaido, repeatedly ordered people to take cover.
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KIMIMASA MAYAMA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)"The missile is believed to have been launched from North Korea. Evacuate inside a building or underground. Missile launch. Missile launch. The missile is believed to have been launched from North Korea. Evacuate inside a building or underground."
Many of North Korea's ballistic missile tests are conducted on a "lofted trajectory," which sends them high into space but leads to an impact point not far from the launch site, avoiding over flights of its neighbours.
Firing over or past Japan allows North Korea's scientists to test missiles under more realistic conditions, said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
