US, Russia express concern over North Korea missile test

Countries throughout the world, including Russia and the U.S. expressed concern after North Korea fired a ballistic missile Sunday.

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.

The missile flew more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), surrounded by the Korean peninsula, Japan and the Russian far east.

It impacted "so close to Russian soil ... the president cannot imagine that Russia is pleased," the White House said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is concerned about Sunday's missile test by North Korea, a Kremlin spokesman said on the sidelines of a visit by Putin to Beijing.

North Korea "has been a flagrant menace for far too long," it said.

China, which has been under growing pressure from Washington to help rein in North Korea, called for restraint.

"All relevant parties should exercise restraint and refrain from further aggravating tensions in the region," the foreign ministry said.

Multiple sets of UN and U.S. sanctions against North Korea have done little to deter Pyongyang from pursuing its nuclear and missile ambitions.

Before the missile test, the U.S. Treasury said it was considering "every tool in our arsenal" to cut off sources of international financing for illegal activities in the North.

Trump has threatened military action but recently appeared to have softened his stance, saying he would be "honored" to meet leader Kim Jong-Un under the right conditions.

New South Korean President Moon Jae-In, who was inaugurated on Wednesday, slammed the missile test as a "reckless provocation" after holding an emergency meeting with national security advisors.

He said the government strongly condemned this "grave challenge to the peace and security of the Korean peninsula and the international community," his spokesman Yoon Young-Chan said.

Moon, unlike his conservative predecessors, advocates reconciliation with Pyongyang but warned Sunday that dialogue would be possible "only if the North changes its attitude."

Moon had said in his inauguration speech that he was willing to visit Pyongyang "in the right circumstances" to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Moon and Washington have signaled an interest in negotiations to ease months of tensions.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe slammed the latest missile launch as "totally unacceptable" and a "grave threat" to Tokyo.

A recent launch in March saw three North Korean missiles fall provocatively close to Japan, sparking alarm in Tokyo.

The North has staged two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since the start of last year in its quest to develop a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the U.S. mainland.

The U.S. Pacific Command said Sunday's launch did not appear to be an ICBM.

Yang said however it showed "fast progress" in Pyongyang's missile capability.

The missile was fired from a site near the northwestern city of Kusong. A previous test at the same site in February sent a missile 500 kilometers, far less than Sunday's launch.