North Korea has fired a ballistic missile powerful enough to hit America, Europe or Australia into Japanese waters.

The Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile was launched eastward from Pyongsong in North Korea's South Pyongan Province at around 3.30am local time (6.30pm GMT).

It flew for around 50 minutes, travelling 1,000km (620 miles), reaching an unprecedented altitude of 2,800 miles, before splashing down in the Sea of Japan.

Hours after the launch President Donald Trump promised 'we will take care of it' and 'it is a situation we will handle'.

The South Korean military says it responded with a missile exercise of its own just minutes after.

This is the first missile launched since one was fired across Japan and into the Pacific Ocean on September 15.

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North Korea has fired another ballistic missile, the US military has confirmed today. Image from September 2017

The missile was launched eastward from Pyongsong in North Korea's South Pyongan Province in the direction of the Sea of Japan at around 3.30am local time (6.30pm GMT)

South Korean television shows the course of the missile fired from North Korea

Pictures released by the South Korean Navy show the country's ship-to-surface missile Haesong-II being fired from the Aegis ship in response to North Korea's missile test

Guam's Homeland Security said the missile launch posed no threat to the US island territory or its mainland.

The Pentagon confirmed the missile 'travelled for around 1,000km (620 miles) before splashing down in the Sea of Japan'.

Its initial assessment was that the 'intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from Sain Ni in Pyongsong and flew 1,000km (620 miles) before landing within Japan's Economic Exclusion Zone - the Sea of Japan'.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted to say President Trump was 'briefed while missile was still in the air, on the situation with North Korea'.

Speaking in a broadcast from the White House Trump said: 'A missile was launched a little while ago from North Korea.

'Let me tell you that we will take care of it. We have had a long discussion on it. It is a situation we will handle.'

Trump's defence secretary Jim Mattis accused North Korea of endangering world peace, regional peace and 'certainly the United States'.

Shortly afterwards the US, Japan and South Korea requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

Speaking hours after the launch, President Donald Trump (pictured) said: 'A missile was launched a little while ago from North Korea. Let me tell you that we will take care of it. We have had a long discussion on it. It is a situation we will handle.'

It comes just days after President Trump added North Korea to America's list of 'state sponsors of terror' and announced further sanctions targeting the country's shipping.

Pyongyang branded the move 'a serious provocation and violent infringement'.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pictured speaking to reports about the missile that landed in the Sea of Japan

Meanwhile, the international community has strongly condemned the missile launch.

Japan said it would 'never accept North Korea's continuous provocative behaviour', with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calling for an emergency cabinet meeting.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted: 'Another illegal missile launch from DPRK.

'This is not the path to security and prosperity for the North Korean people. DPRK regime must change course.'

The EU branded it a 'further unacceptable violation' of North Korea's international obligations, while Britain's ambassador to the UN called it a 'reckless act'.

Officials in Seoul announced yesterday that a rocket-tracking radar was turned on at a missile base in the North of the region, followed by a large amount of radio chatter, the Yonhap news agency reported.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson took to Twitter to condemn the missile launch

Guam's Homeland Security confirmed the missile launch but said it posed no threat to the US island territory

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted to say President Donald Trump was 'briefed while missile was still in the air, on the situation with North Korea'

Tokyo and Washington had also placed on alert after radio signals were picked up, with one Japanese official telling the Kyodo news agency that a test could take place 'within the next few days.'

Cho Myoung-gyon, South Korea's unification minister, confirmed the activity at an event in Seoul today as he warned that Kim Jong Un may complete his nuclear programme much sooner than previously thought.

Mr Cho said there had been 'noteworthy activity in the North recently', but said the world would have to 'wait and see whether it leads to an actual missile test'.

Speaking about Kim's efforts to develop a viable long-range nuclear weapon, he added: 'Experts think North Korea will take two to three more years but they are developing their nuclear capabilities faster than expected.

South Korean President Moon Jae-In (pictured second left) is pictured at a meeting of the National Security Council in Seoul

A Japanese television broadcast (pictured) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in a news report about the missile test

'We cannot rule out the possibility Pyongyang may declare the completion of their nuclear programme in a year.'

Japan said the latest signals from North Korea might have come to nothing, saying they could have been from military exercises which the North routinely carries out each winter.

Cho had said the frequency of North Korean activity tends to decline noticeably during the winter.

'If it launched a provocation, North Korea has to put its military on alert, but most of its troops are needed for manual labour for preparation of winter,' he said.

Other reasons behind the lull could be that Pyongyang simply needs more time to advance its missile programme such as perfecting its re-entry technology, Cho said, or the North Korean leader could be focusing on boosting the economy.

The Pentagon has now confirmed the missile 'travelled for around 1,000km (620 miles) before splashing down in the Sea of Japan'. Pictured: Leader Kim Jong-Un (pictured second right) provides guidance on a nuclear weapons programme

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (second left) is pictured in South Pyongan Province, where the missile was launched from at 3.30am local time today

North Korea has already carried out a record 15 missile tests this year which showed it has developed an ICBM which can likely strike most of mainland America

Kim has already carried out a record 15 missile tests this year, including two which were fired over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

The tests also confirmed that North Korea has developed a functioning ICBM, a key step toward creating a nuke that can strike mainland America.

News of another launch would come as a blow to North Korea's opponents who had hoped that increased sanctions were at least slowing the country's progress.

After a flurry of missile tests over the summer, Kim last fired a weapon on September 15, despite widely-anticipated launches in October around Labor Day in the US and the Chinese 19th Party Congress.