Arriving in Kyoto, the Prime Minister told reporters that Pyongyang’s missile launch which flew over Japan’s Hokkaido island was unacceptable.
Mrs May said: “The actions of North Korea, of DPRK, are illegal. They are significant actions of provocation.
“I think it’s outrageous. That’s why we will be working with our international partners, as we have done previously but we will be doubling our efforts with our international partners to put pressure on North Korea to stop these illegal activities.”
She added: “I have said previously at the G20 in Hamburg, to President Xi, that the importance of China – they have a key role to play in this, in putting pressure on North Korea to stop the illegal actions.”
The Prime Minister was asked on numerous times whether she would rule out military action or cyber warfare against the hermit kingdom, instead answering that she would continue to work with international states.
It comes as Mrs May heading to Japan for talks on how the UK looks to “cement its position as Japan’s strongest security partner in Europe” after Brexit, yet the threat of World War 3 looks set to overshadow any trade talks.
Mrs May said: “As our closest security partner in Asia, we will also discuss how we can work much more closely together on cyber security, counter-terrorism and defence – more important than ever in this uncertain world.”