SEOUL (Dispatches) -- North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday in the face of U.S. muscle-flexing, days after a new leader in its old rival South Korea came to power pledging sanctions as well as dialogue in dealing with Pyongyang.
The U.S. Pacific Command said it was assessing the type of missile. Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said the missile could be of a new type.
The missile flew 700 km (430 miles) and reached an altitude of more than 2,000 km (1,245 miles), according to officials in South Korea and Japan, further and higher than an intermediate-range missile North Korea successfully tested in February from the same region of Kusong, northwest of its capital, Pyongyang.
North Korea is widely believed to be developing an intercontinental missile tipped with a nuclear weapon that is capable of reaching the United States.
President Donald Trump called for tougher sanctions against North Korea. "Let this latest provocation serve as a call for all nations to implement far stronger sanctions against North Korea," the White House said in a brief statement.
Multiple sets of UN and U.S. sanctions against North Korea have done little to deter it from pursuing its nuclear and missile programs which Pyongyang describes as its defensive leverage against Washington’s potential attacks.
An intercontinental ballistic missile is considered to have a range of more than 6,000 km (3,700 miles).
Japan said the missile flew for 30 minutes before dropping into the sea between North Korea's east coast and Japan. The North has consistently test-fired missiles in that direction.
"The launch may indeed represent a new missile with a long range," said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, referring to the estimated altitude of more than 2,000 km. "It is definitely concerning."
Speaking in Beijing, Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, told reporters Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping had discussed the situation on the Korean peninsula, including the latest missile launch and expressed "mutual concerns" about growing tension.
Putin is in Beijing for a conference on a plan for a new Silk Road. Delegations from the United States, South Korea and North Korea are also there.
The launch, at 5:27 a.m. Seoul time (2027 GMT Saturday), came two weeks after North Korea fired a missile that disintegrated minutes into flight, according to U.S. claims.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who took office on Wednesday, held his first National Security Council in response to the launch, which he called a "clear violation" of UN Security Council resolutions, his office said.
Moon won Tuesday's election on a platform of a moderate approach to North Korea and has said he would be willing to go to Pyongyang under the right circumstances, arguing dialogue must be used in parallel with sanctions.
China, the North's sole main ally which nevertheless objects to its weapons programs, called for restraint and for no one to exacerbate tension.
"China opposes relevant launch activities by North Korea that are contrary to Security Council resolutions," China's foreign ministry said in a statement.
South Korea’s ties with China have been strained by a decision by Seoul’s former government to deploy a U.S. missile system which Beijing sees as a threat to its security.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said North Korea's missile launches were a "grave threat to our country and a clear violation of UN resolutions".
North Korea on Feb. 12, launched the Pukguksong-2 missile, an upgraded, extended-range version of its submarine-launched ballistic missile, from the same site.
South Korean and U.S. military officials said the February launch was a significant development as it successfully tested a solid-fuel engine from a mobile launcher. The missile flew about 500 km with an altitude of 550 km.
Tensions have been on the rise on the Korean Peninsula over the past weeks.
The United States has adopted a war-like posture, sending a strike group and conducting joint military drills with North Korea’s regional adversaries Japan and South Korea.
Pyongyang defends its missile and nuclear programs as a means of protecting the country from U.S. hostility.
In addition to a naval strike group, which includes the large USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, Washington deployed two supersonic bombers over the peninsula during a joint exercise with South Korea’s air force recently. The USS Michigan nuclear submarine also joined the strike group.