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North Korea has fired a ballistic missile over northern Japan today in the most serious escalation yet of its nuclear stand-off with the West.

Millions of Japanese citizens were woken with texts urging them to move to a 'sturdy building or basement' as the missile passed over its territory at around 6am local time.
The Japanese military did not attempt to shoot down the rocket, which broke into three pieces off the coast of Hokkaido and landed in the Pacific Ocean, around 700 miles east of Cape Erimo, after travelling 1,700m in eight minutes.

Dictator Kim Jong-Un is believed to have fired his rocket over Japan because it is the path towards the US Pacific territory of Guam, which he threatened to attack two weeks ago.