Theresa May 'outraged' at North Korea firing a missile over northern Japanese island Hokkaido

Japanese residents were told to ‘evacuate to a sturdy building or basement’

North Korean inter-continental ballistic rocket Hwasong-14 being prepared before a test launch (EPA)

Theresa May has said she is “outraged” by after North Korea fired a missile over a Japanese Island, sending panicked residents running for shelter.

The Prime Minister, who is heading for Japan on an official visit tomorrow, branded the latest act of aggression from the pariah state as a “reckless provocation”.

The rocket flew over the Island of Hokkaido at around 6am local time on Tuesday before crashing into the sea.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The Prime Minister is outraged by North Korea’s reckless provocation and she strongly condemns these illegal tests.”

Number 10 has said that none of her travel plans have changed in the wake of the missile test after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also expressed his outrage.

Japanese officials said the missile flew over northern Japan, separated into three parts and landed in the Pacific Ocean, causing no damage to ships or anything else .

The launch comes amid heightened tension in East Asia after North Korea threatened to fire missiles towards the American territory of Guam. Pyongyang has also expressed anger at joint US-South Korea military exercises.

Residents found out about the emergency when loudspeakers and sirens went off, with the Japanese government warning: “A missile was fired from North Korea. Please evacuate to a sturdy building or basement.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said: “North Korea’s reckless action is an unprecedented, serious and a grave threat to our nation.”

South Korea later dropped bombs near the border with its neighbour and threatened to target North Korea’s leadership if its citizens are threatened.