North Korea has reportedly launched a intermediate-range ballistic missile over northern Japan for the first time in five years, prompting the government to urge people to shelter from falling debris, in an apparent escalation of recent weapons tests by Kim Jong-un’s regime, writes The Guardian.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency said the government had activated its J-Alert system on Tuesday morning for residents in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido and the country’s north-eastern Aomori prefecture. Train services were temporarily halted in the region, media reports said.

“North Korea appears to have launched a missile. Please evacuate into buildings or underground”, - the alert read.

The Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, called North Korea’s actions “outrageous”, and said the government would continue to gather and analyse information. The defence minister, Yasukazu Hamada, said Japan would examine all options, including counterattack capabilities, as it looks to strengthen its defences in the face of repeated missile launches from North Korea.