World War 3: Trump help us! Japanese diplomat's SHOCK plea to US over North Korea missile
NORTH KOREA firing an intercontinental ballistic missile has led to a dramatic plea from Japan to Donald Trump to protect the Asian nation.
Ichiro Fujisaki: Japan is depending on US to deter North Korea
North Korea launched the missile at around 3am local time (6pm GMT) on Tuesday, sparking a furious response from South Korea.
The North Korea missile was fired eastwards from the hermit state. The missile landed about 210km west of Japan's Kyurokujima island, Tokyo said.
Ichirō Fujisaki, former Japanese Ambassador to the United States, said Japan was "depending" on Donald Trump as World War 3 fears escalate.
Speaking on the Today programme, on BBC Radio 4, he said: "It's true that we don't have the attacking capabilities, we are depending on the United States for extended deterrence and that has been our policy since World War 2.
We are depending on the United States for extended deterrence
"Mr Trump, the President of the United States has been very clear that he will try and defend Japan. So we're putting some confidence on this US position.
"It's a little ironic but because of the nuclear development and missile extension, the United States is really getting serious about North Korea."
Within minutes of North Korea's ICBM launch, South Korea had fired its own missile launch in retaliation.
Japanese media reports the missile was in the air for 50 minutes - indicating a very high altitude flight path.
South Korea launch missiles in response to North Korea test
It travelled east for around 620 miles and to an altitude of 2,500 miles before crashing into the Sea of Japan.
US leader Mr Trump was briefed on the missile while it was still in the air.
He spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-In, with all three leaders reaffirming their commitment to combat the North Korean threat.
Mr Trump said: “It is a situation we will handle.”
He said the launch did not change his administration's approach to North Korea, which has included new curbs to hurt trade between China and North Korea, which it sees as important to deterring Pyongyang from its ambition to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States.