President Donald Trump said the United States “stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent.” | AP Photo Trump: 'America stands behind Japan' after North Korea missile test

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Saturday night confronted his first international test after North Korea launched a ballistic missile, saying in a hastily organized news conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort that the United States “stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent.”

His brief remarks came at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has been spending the weekend with Trump in Florida.


At the 3-minute-long news conference, where neither of the world leaders took questions, Abe decried the launch “as absolutely intolerable.”

South Korea deemed the missile launch the first test of Trump’s previous statement that defending against nuclear attacks from North Korea was a “very, very high priority,” although Trump did not mention South Korea in his statement on Saturday night.

The international incident occurred on the tail end of Trump and Abe's two-day diplomatic retreat. Trump and Abe played golf together on Saturday at the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, while the Japanese prime minister’s wife, Akie Abe, and first lady Melania Trump toured the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens.

Abe and his wife flew aboard Air Force One from Washington, D.C., to Florida on Friday afternoon and dined at Mar-a-Lago with the Trumps on Friday and Saturday nights. Trump appeared to enjoy spending time with Abe, tweeting that he “had a great time. Japan is very well represented!”

“North Korea must fully comply with the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Abe, who has a reputation as a hawk on North Korea, said on Saturday night.

“During the summit meeting I had with President Trump, he assured me that the United States will always [be with] Japan 100 percent, and to demonstrate his determination as well as commitment, he is here with me at this joint press conference.”

The missile was launched from a town near the Chinese border and landed in the sea between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, according to wire reports. Defense Secretary James Mattis, who visited South Korea on his first trip abroad last week, said that any use of nuclear weapons from its North Korean neighbors would be met by an "effective and overwhelming" response from the United States.