North Korea test fired what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday, in a major challenge to US President Donald Trump after he slapped fresh sanctions on Pyongyang and declared it a state sponsor of terrorism.
It was the nuclear-armed North's first ballistic test in more than two months and an initial assessment by the Pentagon said it was an ICBM that flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before splashing down within Japan's maritime Economic Exclusion Zone.
The test prompted a swift response from Trump who warned: "We will take care of it," while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described it a "violent" act that can "never be tolerated."
North Korea at the tipping point: why we’ve just seen a gamechanger on the Korean peninsula
There’s a reason analysts with a grim sense of humour call North Korea the Land of Lousy Choices. With diplomatic talks long stalled, and sanctions not having any apparent impact, the US's options seem to be narrowing: accept the reality of a nuclear armed North Korea, or fight a terrible war that would kill hundreds of thousands to stop that happening.
Japan, the United States and South Korea called for a special meeting of the UN Security Council, while US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stressed that diplomatic options for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue remained "viable and open"
It was the North's third successful test of an ICBM which has the range to reach the mainland United States, although experts say Pyongyang has yet to master the re-entry technology required to bring a nuclear warhead back through the Earth's atmosphere.
"The Australian Government condemns in the strongest possible terms North Korea's continued violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions," Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
In September the North conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test and staged an intermediate-range missile launch over Japan, before a lull in testing that had raised hopes that multiple sanctions on its nuclear weapons programme were finally having an impact.
The US last week raised pressure on Pyongyang by unveiling new sanctions targeting North Korean shipping.
President Trump also declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, a spot on a US blacklist the country had shed nearly a decade ago.
Trump said that the terror designation and sanctions were part of a series of moves to reinforce his "maximum pressure campaign" against North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's regime.
