US President Donald Trump has warned Pyongyang that "all options are on the table" after North Korea fired a missile over Japan early Tuesday.
Tuesday's launch was particularly provocative as it was North Korea's first ballistic missile to fly over Japan. Kim Jong Un's regime regularly fires missiles into the sea between its own territory and Japan.
On Wednesday morning local time the official North Korean news agency, KCNA, acknowledged the missile launch reporting that the North Korean leader guided the launch of the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan.
Officials summarized the media reports to CNN in Pyongyang, saying the launch was overseen by Kim Jong Un who was "very satisfied with the performance of the missile."
They said the launch was a strong message in response to the ongoing joint US-South Korean military exercise in the southern half of the Korean peninsula. They added the launch was the first of its kind into the Pacific Ocean and was a prelude to more military options aimed at Guam with more launches planned in the future. It was also carried out on the 107th anniversary of the annexation of Korea by Japan in 1907.
"Initial assessment indicates the launch of an intermediate range ballistic missile," according to a Pentagon statement released on Tuesday.
"The launch occurred in the vicinity of Sunan Air Base, North Korea and flew east ... The ballistic missile overflew the territory of northern Japan before landing in the Pacific Ocean approximately 500 nautical miles east of Japan," the statement said.
"The launch occurred in the vicinity of Sunan Air Base, North Korea and flew east ... The ballistic missile overflew the territory of northern Japan before landing in the Pacific Ocean approximately 500 nautical miles east of Japan," the statement said.
The launch comes as the US and South Korea conduct joint military drills on the peninsula and a day after drills ended between the US and Japan on the northern island of Hokkaido.
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