Kim Jong-un calls for more North Korea missile blasts after launch over Japan
It comes as World War 3 fears heighten and Japan earlier issued a warning telling citizens in Hokkaido to take shelter in "a sturdy building or basement”.
Tuesday's missile was launched from Sunan, close to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, and flew around 1,680 miles (2,700km) before it broke into three pieces and landed in the sea around 733miles (1,180km) off the east coast of Japan.
Despite breaking to pieces, Kim Jong-un claimed the missile was a warning to the US and South Korea over their “provocative” military drills.
He added that the launch of the Hwasong-12 missile was also a "preclude" to containing the US territory of Guam as North Korea earlier warned it would fire missiles around the island.
Experts believe the latest rocket is the first missile from North Korea which is powerful enough to potentially carry a nuclear warhead.
Kim Jong-un vowed his recent missile launches were "the first step of the military operation of the Korean People's Army in the Pacific and a meaningful prelude to containing Guam”.
He added that it is a "curtain-raiser of its resolute countermeasures" against the Seoul-Washington drills.
Donald Trump reiterated that all options were still on the table for dealing with North Korea’s threats as he added the world had received Kim Jong-un’s message "loud and clear".
Speaking after the missile launch, the US President said: "Threatening and destabilising actions only increase the North Korean regime's isolation in the region and among all nations of the world. All options are on the table.”
Tuesday's launch comes after the rogue state fired three missiles on Saturday towards the Sea of Japan, whcih either failed in flight or exploded almost immediately.
The US revealed its army is ready to attack North Korea if necessary with additional bombers stationed in its military bases in Guam.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in also ordered a show of "overwhelming" force in response to the launch and four South Korean jets staged a live bombing drill on Tuesday.
Mr Moon’s chief press secretary, Yoon Young-chan, confirmed the drill was ordered by the South Korean military after an urgent National Security Council meeting.
He added: “We assessed North Korea’s provocations as extremely severe and decided to maintain a vigilant posture in preparation for the possibility of additional provocations by North Korea.”
North Korea’s ambassador to the UN claims his country has “every reason” to continue ramping up war tensions as he accused the US of driving the Korean peninsula towards an "explosion".
The secretive state earlier this month revealed plans to launch four IRBMs towards US-territory Guam.
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