By Jung Ha-Won
North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, drawing a strong rebuke from US President Donald Trump who vowed "100 percent" support for key ally Japan at a press conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The missile, the first test since Trump became president, was launched around 7:55 am (2255 GMT Saturday) from Banghyon air base in the western province of North Pyongan, and flew east towards the Sea of Japan (East Sea), the South Korean defence ministry said.
It flew about 500 kilometres (310 miles) before falling into the sea, a ministry spokesman said, adding the exact type of missile had yet to be identified.
"Today's missile launch... is aimed at drawing global attention to the North by boasting its nuclear and missile capabilities", the ministry said in a statement.
"It is also believed that it was an armed provocation to test the response from the new US administration under President Trump," it added.
Trump responded with an assurance to visiting Japanese Prime Minister Abe that Washington was committed to the security of its key Asian ally.
"I just want everybody to understand and fully know that the United States of America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent," Trump said, without elaborating further.
Abe denounced the launch as "absolutely intolerable" while top government spokesman Yoshihide Suge told reporters in Tokyo that it was "clearly a provocation to Japan and the region".
North Korea is barred under UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology but six sets of UN sanctions since Pyongyang's first nuclear test in 2006 have failed to halt its drive for what it insists are defensive weapons.
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