North Korea launches ANOTHER missile over Japan in the Pacific as regime taunts the world - and this time Seoul swiftly retaliates with its own test

Getting testy: North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un launched what is believed to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile over Japan which landed in the sea

North Korea has fired another test missile over Japan, leading to global condemnation amid already high tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear warhead tests.

The missile flew over the northern island of Hokkaido, where thousands were awoken by air-raid sirens for the second time in just three weeks, and landed some 1,240 miles off the cape of Erimo just before 7am local time (10pm Thursday GMT).

The Japanese government has said they believe the latest test was of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which was launched from a base near Pyongyang.

The missile test was carried out mere hours after North Korea threatened to nuke Japan and reduce the US 'to ashes and darkness' in response to the latest sanctions imposed by the UN.

'Japan can never tolerate this repeated provocative action by North Korea,' Tokyo's government spokesman told reporters, adding that the country will make an appropriate response.