Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a telephone conversation on Tuesday “jointly condemned (…) in the strongest possible terms” North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile over Japan, the White House said in a statement, AFP writes. .

The US president also reaffirmed during the call “(the United States’) ironclad commitment to the defense of Japan,” and the two leaders pledged to “continue to closely coordinate our immediate and long-term response bilaterally, trilaterally with South Korea and internationally. “.

North Korea on Tuesday launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that flew over Japan for the first time since 2017, prompting Tokyo to activate its alert system and ask residents in some areas to take shelter.

This shooting “endangers the Japanese people, destabilizes the region and clearly violates UN Security Council resolutions,” Washington said in a statement.

Joe Biden and Fumio Kishida “committed to continued efforts to limit North Korea’s ability to pursue its illicit ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs,” the White House said.