Europe 1 with AFP 06:59, October 04, 2022

After the firing of a North Korean ballistic missile, which flew over Japan, the United States and the neighbors of North Korea exchanged together for a "robust" response, announces the White House.

The United States also recalled their "ironclad commitment" to South Korea and Japan. 

The United States has consulted with Japan and South Korea for a "robust" response to the firing of a North Korean ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday, the White House said.

US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan spoke separately with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts to craft an "appropriate and robust international" response.

He reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad commitment" to the defense of Japan and South Korea, spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

This firing of a medium-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan is the first since 2017 and constitutes an escalation in the intensive campaign of weapons tests carried out by Pyongyang.

The South Korean army said it detected this shot from a ballistic missile which flew over a distance of about 4,500 km at an altitude of 970 km, at a speed close to Mach 17, flying over the archipelago in the direction of ballast.

Washington committed to Japan and South Korea

In a separate statement, the US Asia-Pacific Command condemned the launch, saying Washington's "commitments to the defense of Japan and Korea remain unwavering."

"The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to refrain from any further illegal and destabilizing acts," he said in a statement, using the official abbreviation for North Korea. 

Pyongyang's last missile launch over Japan was in 2017, at the height of the "fire and fury" period in which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump exchanged insults.

Tokyo on Tuesday uncharacteristically activated the country's missile warning system and asked the affected population to evacuate.