North Korea missile strike 'a threat to the world'

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile launch is "a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region and the world".

Saying that "global action is required to stop a global threat", he added: "Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime."

The US and South Korea responded to the latest launch with a large-scale ballistic missile exercise in the region, which officials said was a warning to North Korea.

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Washington has called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the missile test. A closed-door session of the 15-member body is expected later today.

According to David Wright, at the Union of Concerned Scientists, based on the time it took Pyongyang's new missile to travel 578 miles on a "high, lofted trajectory", it would have "a maximum range of roughly 4,160 miles, or 6,700 kilometres, on a standard trajectory".

That, he told the New York Times, "would not be enough to reach the lower 48 states or the large islands of Hawaii, but would allow it to reach all of Alaska".

Adam Mount, from the Center for American Progress, said there were few good options for the US to deal with a nuclear-armed North Korea.

"You can't try to stop North Korea crossing a threshold - it's already crossed (it)," he said, reports CNN. "What are the sanctions for? What do we get out of pressuring China or North Korea? I think we need to step back and rethink."

Tillerson also said the US "will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea".