U.N. Security Council to hold emergency meeting after North Korea's latest ICBM launch

Thomas Maresca and Jim Michaels | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump on N. Korean missile: 'We will take care of it.' In response to reports that North Korea has launched another intercontinental ballistic missile, President Trump said he "will handle" the situation.

SEOUL — The United Nations Security Council will convene an emergency meeting Wednesday, after North Korea claimed to have achieved its goal of becoming a nuclear state by successfully launching a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking “the whole mainland of the U.S.”

The leaders of South Korea and Japan agreed to seek additional U.N. sanctions against the reclusive nation in a 20 minute phone call following the launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM on Wednesday.

"President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to further intensify their countries' cooperation to put stronger pressure and sanctions against North Korea, noting they can no longer tolerate North Korea's threats to security," Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan told reporters, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

The Hwasong-15 appears to be the longest-range missile ever tested by the North. The missile flew about 600 miles in a high trajectory, but would have had a range of 8,100 miles had it flown in a flat trajectory, according to calculations by David Wright, an expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists. That would make it capable of reaching Washington, D.C.

More: Analysts: North Korea's nuclear 'rocket power' claims need further scrutiny

More: Trump: North Korea missile launch will bring Democrats to negotiating table on spending bill

North Korean news agency KCNA issued a report stating that the Hwasong-15 carried a “super-large heavy warhead.” The report said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watched the launch and “declared with pride that now we have finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force.”

State television also ran a special broadcast on the launch, which showed Kim personally signing the launch order.

Russia joined the nations to decry the "provocative step" which "sparks a further rise in tensions."

"We condemn this launch and hope that all the respective sides will manage to keep calm, which is very necessary to prevent the worst-case scenario on the Korean Peninsula," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The missile was launched from Sain Ni, near the capital of Pyongyang, and splashed down into the Sea of Japan, according to the Pentagon. The missile landed inside Japan's Economic Exclusion Zone.

More: South Korea: North Korea could complete its nuclear program next year

More: North Korea warning: U.S. security abilities are eroding and must be rebuilt

More: No one can prevent Trump from using nuclear weapons, experts say

Following the test, President Trump told reporters that the U.S. "will take care of it. ... It is a situation that we will handle."

In a phone call after the launch, Trump and Japan's Abe “reaffirmed their commitment to combat the North Korean threat,” the White House said. Trump also spoke with South Korea's Moon and "reaffirmed their strong condemnation of North Korea’s reckless campaign to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs."

The State Department announced it is launching an international effort to step up pressure on North Korea that could include interdicting ships carrying goods to and from that country.

Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the joint U.S.-Canada effort will include 16 countries. "We have always been very clear that we would be open to talks with North Korea. But North Korea is not showing it is willing to sit down and talk," she said.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile was not a threat to North America or U.S. territories.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the missile "went higher, frankly, than any previous shots they have taken.”

It is not clear whether North Korea has mastered the technology, however, that would allow it to place a miniaturized nuclear warhead on an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Mattis said the latest test "endangers world peace, regional peace and certainly the United States."

South Korea's military responded by conducting its own shorter-range missile tests to mimic striking the North Korea launch site, Yonhap reported.

Michaels reported from McLean, Va.

Contributing: Jane Onyanga-Omara in London