North Korea fires missile over Japan prompting warnings for residents to shelter

Launch is the first time the North has apparently sent a missile over Japanese territory since 2017

North Korea has 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.

Japan's 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.