North Korea says it has successfully tested a long-range “intercontinental” missile.
It is the first time North Korea has claimed to have successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which could potentially have the range to reach the US mainland.
Earlier the US said a missile landed in the Sea of Japan but that it did not pose a threat to North America.
North Korea has increased the frequency of its missile tests, raising tensions.
An announcement on North Korea state television said it had launched a Hwasong-14 missile, overseen by their leader Kim Jong-un.
It said the projectile reached an altitude of 2,802km (1,731 miles) and flew 933km before hitting a target in the sea.
Earlier the US Pacific Command said it was an intermediate range missile.
While Pyongyang has appeared to have made progress, experts believe North Korea does not have the capability to accurately target a place with an intercontinental ballistic missile, or miniaturise a nuclear warhead that can fit on to such a missile.
The big question is: what range does this missile have – could it hit the United States? One expert already thinks that it might be able to reach Alaska but not the lower states.
David Wright, a physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said: “If the reports are correct, that same missile could reach a maximum range of roughly 6,700 km (4,160 miles) on a standard trajectory.
“That range would not be enough to reach the lower 48 states or the large islands of Hawaii, but would allow it to reach all of Alaska”.
It’s not just a missile that North Korea would need but also the ability to protect a warhead as it re-enters the atmosphere, and it’s not clear if North Korea can do that.
On the prospect of North Korea being able to strike the US, President Trump tweeted in January: “It won’t happen”. The truth is that it might, most experts think within five years, probably less. What would President Trump do then?
What has the reaction been?
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in has called on the UN Security Council to take steps against North Korea over its latest missile test.
He has ordered security and diplomatic officials to seek “Security Council measures in close co-operation with the country’s allies, including the United States,” his chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan told reporters.
Earlier Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: “North Korea’s repeated provocations like this are absolutely unacceptable.”
PM Shinzo Abe said Japan would “unite strongly” with the US and South Korea to put pressure on Pyongyang.
US President Donald Trump also responded swiftly on Tuesday to the missile launch.
On his Twitter account he made apparent reference to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying: “Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?”
“Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!”
He has repeatedly called on China, Pyongyang’s closest economic ally, to pressure North Korea to end its nuclear and missile programmes.
China has not fully responded to the latest test.
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