North Korea has fired a ballistic missile that had the range to strike the entire United States mainland.
North Korea has fired another missile
The launch was reported by officials in both Japan and South Korea after the rocket landed 200km off the coast of Japan on Friday (18.11.22).
The move comes just a day after North Korea conducted a similar missile launch as it warned of "fiercer military responses" to American plans to boost its security presence in the region and claimed that Washington is taking a "gamble it will regret".
US Vice President Kamala Harris convened an emergency meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Thailand with leaders from Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada and New Zealand after the latest launch.
She said: "We strongly condemn these actions and we again call for North Korea to stop further unlawful, destabilising acts.
"On behalf of the United States, I reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our Indo-Pacific alliances. Together the countries represented here will continue to urge North Korea to commit to serious and sustained diplomacy."
The US and South Korea held joint air force drills using F-35A fighter jets in response to the latest actions from Pyongyang.
Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters the altitude of the weapon suggests the missile was launched from a high angle and depending on the weight of the warhead the weapon has a range exceeding 15,000km, "in which case it could cover the entire mainland United States".