Trump said the US was "100% with Japan" and repeated his strong commitment to the defense of Japan, Abe said shortly after the call.

"The outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages regional peace and security," Abe told reporters in Tokyo, adding that his government had protested to Pyongyang via the Japanese embassy in Beijing.

The missile was the third fired by North Korea to have passed over Japanese territory. The first was in 1998 and the second in 2009, although Pyongyang claims they were satellites.