The latest missile test by North Korea, one of its furthest-reaching yet, has split world powers who united behind new UN sanctions just days ago.
The US said all nations had “to address this problem short of war”, hours after saying the burden of response should fall on China and Russia.
China accused the US of shirking its own responsibility, while Russia condemned US rhetoric as “aggressive”.
The UN Security Council is holding an emergency session over the test.
The missile was fired over Japan and reached an altitude of about 770km (478 miles), travelling 3,700km past the northernmost island of Hokkaido before landing in the sea, South Korea’s military says.
It had the capacity to reach the US territory of Guam and experts say it is the furthest any North Korean ballistic missile has ever travelled above ground.
Key US ally South Korea responded within minutes by firing two ballistic missiles into the sea in a simulated strike on the North.
Speaking before the Security Council was due to meet in New York at the request of the US and Japan, US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley said there was not much the body could do.
US officials pointed to President Donald Trump’s address at the UN next week and his planned meetings there with the Japanese and South Korean leaders.
What accusations are being traded?
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his country would “never tolerate” such “dangerous provocative action”, and the US, China and Russia also condemned the test, coming as it did after the North’s nuclear bomb test on 3 September.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have called for a resumption of direct talks with Pyongyang to de-escalate the crisis, the Kremlin says.
On Monday, UN Security Council members voted unanimously to restrict oil imports and ban textile exports to North Korea in response to the nuclear test, which had violated UN resolutions.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made clear Washington considered it was now up to Beijing and Moscow to act to restrain Pyongyang. He said China supplied North Korea with most of its oil, while Russia was the largest employer of North Korean forced labour.
Hours later, National Security Adviser HR McMaster told reporters: “We’re out of road. We have to call on all nations… to address this problem short of war.” But he did not rule out a military response.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying insisted her country was not the “focal point of the conflict”.
“The various directly involved parties should take responsibility,” she told journalists, in remarks clearly aimed at the US and South Korea. “Any attempt to wash their hands of the issue is irresponsible and unhelpful for resolving the issue.”
She added that sanctions were “not the way to solve the problem” and called for a peaceful solution “through formal diplomatic means”.
Speaking on a Russian radio station, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “We are demonstrating not only our intolerance towards the illegal launches but also our willingness to settle the situation in the Korean peninsula.”
“Regrettably, aggressive rhetoric is the only thing coming from Washington,” she added.
Why does this new test matter?
The launch took place from the Sunan district of the capital Pyongyang just before 07:00 local time (22:00 GMT on Thursday), South Korea’s military says. Sunan is home to Pyongyang International Airport.
As with the last test on 29 August, the missile flew over Japan’s northern Hokkaido island before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. There were no immediate reports of damage to aircraft or ships.
Sirens sounded across the region and text message alerts were sent out warning people to take cover.
Observers say it is likely to have been an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) though Japanese officials believe there is still a possibility it was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
What is so alarming about the new launch is that the US Pacific territory of Guam, which North Korea says it has plans to fire missiles towards, is 3,400km from Pyongyang, putting it within range of the latest missile.
The North’s sixth nuclear test reportedly involved a miniaturised hydrogen bomb that could be loaded on to a long-range missile. BBC News
