7.30am: South Korea responds to North’s missile with live-fire drill
South Korea has held a live-fire drill “to showcase a strong punishment capability against the North”.
Four F-15K jets dropped eight MK84 bombs on a target meant to simulate Kim Jong-un’s Pyongyang hideout, Seoul confirmed.
“The drill reconfirmed South Korea Air Force capability to destroy the enemy’s leadership in cases of emergency,” an official with the country’s defence ministry said.
7.00am: Japanese PM calls North Korean launch “unprecedented threat”
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decried North Korea’s missile launch as an “unprecedented and grave threat” to his country.
“The outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages regional peace and security,” he said, shortly after holding a phone call with US President Donald Trump.
The two leaders agreed to call for an emergency meeting of the UN security council to discuss this latest development in a 40-minute conversation, during which Mr Trump reaffirmed that he is “100 per cent with Japan”.
Mr Abe added that Japan will “strongly call for increased pressure on North Korea in cooperation with the international community” via the security council.
South Korea has joined in with calls for an emergency meeting, Japan’s UN ambassador Koro Bessho later confirmed.
“Our goal is to stop North Korea from going down this road. The international community has to put more pressure on North Korea,” Mr Bessho told CNN.
6.50am: North Korea fires missile over Japan
North Korea has fired a missile over northern Japan in its most daring act of warmongering yet.
The warhead flew over Hokkaido island at around 6.06am local time, before crashing into the sea 1,180km east of Cape Erimo.
Officials in Seoul said that the missile may have flown further than any other launched by Pyongyang, travelling some 2,700km.
It reached a maximum altitude of about 550km, lower than most North Korean missile launches which have been steeply lofted.
Japan did not attempt to shoot down the missile, which triggered a safety warning in Hokkaido.
Residents were told to seek shelter in “a sturdy building or basement”.