The Pentagon confirmed that North Korea has launched a missile over Japan, and said it did not pose a threat to North America.

The missile was launched "within the last 90 minutes," Colonel Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said around 2200 GMT Monday (6:30 am Tuesday in Pyongyang).

"We assess North Korea conducted a missile launch within the last 90 minutes. We can confirm that the missile launched by North Korea flew over Japan," Manning added, cautioning that the United States was still assessing the launch.