Japanese prime minister condemns North Korea's long-range missile test

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed on Sunday morning that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had launched a rocket from a site in Pyongyang.

Abe quickly condemned the launch stating that it was in clear violation of UN resolutions, Xinhua reported.

Japan's top government spokesperson, Yoshihide Suga, confirmed however that while the long-range rocket may have flown over Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture, no damage had been reported.

Defence ministry officials said that no measures were taken to intercept the missile.

The launch has defied international warnings and Japan has maintained that such a launch would be in clear violation of UN resolutions and a provocative act that threatens its national security.

The DPRK had said it plans to launch an earth observation satellite, but Japan and the US, among other nations, believe the launch was a test of a long-range ballistic missile.

The DPRK is banned from test-firing any rockets based on a ballistic missile technology under UN Security Council resolutions.

It is the first time since December 2012 that the DPRK has conducted such a test.