North Korean fires suspected ICBM — reports

North Korea launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday, officials in South Korea and Japan said.

The missile was most likely to have landed in the water about 210 kilometers (130 miles) west of Hokkaido, according to the Japan Coast Guard.

According to Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, the missile had sufficient range to reach the United States mainland.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had "detected a presumed long-range ballistic missile around 10:15 am (1:15 am GMT) fired from the Sunan area in Pyongyang towards the East Sea." This was a reference to the Sea of Japan.

According to the presidential office, the National Security Council of South Korea convened on Friday to discuss the alleged ICBM launch.

The US said it "strongly condemns" North Korea's "test of a long-range ballistic missile."

The reclusive country, led by strongman Kim Jong Un, recently launched an ICBM on November 3. Experts, however, believe the missile failed to fly its intended course and fell into the ocean. The latest launch on Friday appears to have been a more successful test for Pyongyang.

Missile tests spark worry

The launch on Friday comes a day after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile. Pyongyang has warned it will carry out further such actions, sparking worries that a nuclear test may occur soon.

The ICBM is North Korea's longest-range missile and is capable of delivering a nuclear payload to any point in the continental United States.

North Korea has conducted unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests this year.

Pyongyang launched 23 missiles on November 2, surpassing its total for the full year of 2017.

These tests are prohibited by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions that has sanctioned the nation over its missile and nuclear weapons programs.

'Brazen violation of multiple UNSC resolutions'

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called Friday's launch "absolutely unacceptable," while adding that no damage to ships or aircraft have been reported.

Washington said in a statement that it will take all necessary steps to protect its country as well as the security of its allies Japan and South Korea.

"This launch is a brazen violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region," US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

US Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Pyongyang's latest ICBM launch, holding an emergency meeting on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Bangkok.

"We strongly condemn these actions and again call on North Korea to stop further unlawful destabilizing acts," Harris said. "On behalf

of the United States I reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to our Indo-Pacific alliances."

Russia, a tacit ally of North Korea, said it was "concerned" about the situation on the Korean peninsula and called for all parties to avoid confrontation. Moscow, however, accused Washington of provoking North Korea, with deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov saying "it's as if Pyongyang's patience is being tested."

North Korea decries joint military exercises

On Thursday, North Korea's foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, criticized a trilateral meeting between the US, South Korea, and Japan, during which the leaders denounced Pyongyang's missile tests and committed to stronger security cooperation.

Choe said their "war drills for aggression" were inviting a "more serious, realistic and inevitable threat" upon themselves.

"The keener the US is on the 'bolstered offer of extended deterrence' to its allies and the more they intensify provocative and bluffing military activities ... the fiercer the DPRK's military counteraction will be," Choe said in a statement.

"The US will be well aware that it is gambling, for which it will certainly regret," Choe added.

In response to the nuclear-armed North's rising provocations, Washington has been working to strengthen regional security cooperation and increase joint military exercises. The North perceives all such actions as signs of US aggression.

North Korea's latest missile launches were the topic of conversation between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping earlier this week, as well as talks between Xi and Kishida.

Meanwhile, when Chinese and Japanese leaders met for the first time in three years on Thursday at the APEC meeting in Bangkok, North Korea again topped the agenda, reports DW.