Missile launch over Japan sparks anger

DONALD Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister have held an emergency phone call after North Korea fired a missile over Japan yesterday.

Pyongyang’s latest missile launch has been described as an “unprecedented grave threat” by the Japanese government.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Trump have agreed to call for more sanctions on North Korea.

Mr Trump said the US was “100 per cent with Japan”, Mr Abe said.

South Korea responded to the missile launch with a show of military force near the North Korean border.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered the country’s military to drop bombs near the border in Taebaek.

Four F15K fighter jets have dropped eight Mark 84 or MK84 multipurpose bombs near the border, local media reported.

North Korea launched what’s believed to be a ballistic missile from Pyongyang around 5.57am local time.

The highly provocative move came days after the North fired three short-range ballistic missiles into the sea and a month on from its second flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts fear could reach deep into the US mainland when perfected.

The Japanese military did not attempt to shoot down yesterday’s missile, which passed over Japanese territory 6.06am local time.

The government’s J-Alert warning system advised people in the area to take precautions.

The missile broke into three pieces and landed in waters about 1180km east of Cape Erimo in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands.

The missile launch marked a major escalation of threats from Pyongyang.

It’s the first time a North Korean projectile had crossed over Japan since North Korea launched a rocket over the country in 1998, and again in 2009 carrying what the North claimed was a satellite payload.

South Korea’s military said yesterday’s North Korean missile flew 2700km with a height of 550km. There was no damage to ships or anything else reported.

South Korean news agency Yonhap said the missile was fired eastwards from the Sunan region near Pyongyang.