"I think there is very little risk at the moment to the northern part of our country but we will continue to look at what is necessary," he said. "I don't think there's anything to suggest Australia has been or is a deliberate target." This photo distributed by the North Korean government shows what was said to be the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile during North Korea's last missile tests. Credit:AP He stressed a single missile test did not give a clear picture of North Korea's capabilities. "Given this development and also what's occurred in the peninsula over the last few months there is significant intelligence effort being attributed to it," he said. The military will play a "supporting role" in responding to the latest crisis on the peninsula but for now the predominant response will be diplomatic. Defence planners will be watching closely the talks at the G20 in Germany in the coming days. In one of the ADF's rare public briefings, Admiral Johnston also gave an insight into Australia's operations in the Middle East and the Philippines.

Australian forces have played a key supporting role in the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul, which is now entering its final stages. Fleeing Iraqi civilians walk past the heavily damaged al-Nuri mosque in the Old City of Mosul. Credit:AP Mosul fell to Islamic State militants in 2014, the largest city to come under the extremist group's control. Iraq hopes to fully reclaim it in the coming weeks after months of intense, street-to-street combat, often in heavily populated areas in west Mosul. More than 1000 Iraqi soldiers have been killed and 6000 more wounded in the fighting. ADF Super Hornet warplanes have bombed 456 targets around the city since Iraq and its coalition supporters launched an offensive against IS last year. Targets have included car bomb factories, weapons caches and tunnel entrances. Chief of Joint Operations, Vice-Admiral David Johnston. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"The liberation of Mosul is now inevitable," Admiral Johnston said. Fewer than 400 fighters remain, controlling half a square kilometre of the Old City, he said, but they are increasingly willing to use civilians as human shields in a bid to restrict Iraqi ground forces and coalition air strikes. North Korean news shows what was said to be North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watching the launch of a Hwasong-14 ICBM. Credit:AP The narrow streets of the older parts of Mosul are ideal for IS defenders, who have had time to build tunnels, defensive positions and interconnected strongholds. It's an ideal environment for snipers and concealed explosives, but hard for Iraq's heavy vehicles - and Australia's air support - who are trying to avoid civilian casualties.



However Admiral Johnston made it clear the liberation of Mosul would not spell the end of Australia's involvement in Iraq, as local forces look to recover and then take on other IS pockets throughout the country.



Admiral Johnston also confirmed two Australian Orion spy planes have started operating over the Philippines, providing imagery and other surveillance information to local forces battling a violent Islamist insurgency in Mindanao. Loading

The planes are helping the South-east Asian nation track groups such as Maute, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State and which stormed the city of Marawi in May. An Iraqi Special Forces soldier walks through the streets of West Mosul, Iraq, last week. Credit:Kate Geraghty Follow us on Facebook