President Donald Trump responded Tuesday to a missile launch by North Korea, which sent a ballistic missile over Japan as tensions escalate in the region.
Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported that the missile broke into three pieces and fell into the waters off Japan's Hokkaido. No injuries or damage was reported.
The Japanese government's J-Alert warning system advised people in the area to take precautions.
The Japanese military did not attempt to shoot down the missile, which passed over Japanese territory around 6:06 a.m. local time (2106 GMT), according to Reuters.
Hours after the latest provocation, President Trump said “all options are on the table”, and that Japan had America’s full backing.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called the missile launch “an unprecedented, serious, and grave threat” to Japanese security.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke with President Trump after the launch, and told reporters the US had was “100% with Japan”.
American officials say the United Nations Security Council will address North Korea’s latest provocation.
“It’s another provocation by North Korea, they just seem to continue to happen,” U.S. envoy Robert Wood said, Reuters reported.
“This is a big concern of course to my government and to a number of other governments,” Wood added.
China, North Korea’s patron, responded to the launch, acknowledging that regional tensions were “approaching a critical juncture,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Earlier this month, saber-rattling by Pyongyang prompted President Trump to warn North Korean regime, saying the US was prepared to unleash “fire and fury”.
"North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. He has been very threatening ... and I said, they will be met with fire, fury, and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before," Trump said.
A day later, Pyongyang suggested it was preparing a strike on the US territory of Guam in the Pacific, a threat North Korea later appeared to abandon.