Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni says the G-7 summit his country is hosting later this month will discuss how to deal with the risk North Korea's missile launchings pose to global security.

Gentiloni, who is visiting China and Russia this week, recommended a response of "firmness," which he suggested should be "predominantly economic." He urged an approach of diplomacy, noting that Italy could play a role since it heads the U.N. sanctions committee.

Referring to North Korea's latest ballistic missile test, conducted on Sunday, Gentiloni said in Beijing that "you must not consider these things as local bizarreness or strangeness."

The Italian leader said that "it's a serious problem for global stability and security, and I'm convinced that the upcoming G-7, in friendship, will contribute to resolving this issue."

China's foreign ministry has expressed opposition to North Korea's test-launch of a ballistic missile and called on all sides to exercise restraint.

A Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said in a statement Sunday faxed to The Associated Press that the situation on the Korean peninsula is "complex and sensitive."

Hua says countries "should not do things that further escalate tensions in the region."

In Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that their countries are both playing an "important role as a balancing power" in world affairs by seeking a peaceful way out for of the crises in Syria and the Korean Peninsula.

China, North Korea's most important ally and key provider of food and fuel aid, has sought to cool tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, repeatedly calling for dialogue.

Shen Dingli, a professor of international relations at Fudan University in Shanghai, says North Korea conducted the test to show its "determination to develop nuclear weapons and missiles remains unchanged."

Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida says he and his South Korean counterpart have agreed that dialogue for dialogue's sake with North Korea is meaningless in the wake of Pyongyang's latest missile test.

Kishida says he and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se shared the view that dialogue is important for resolving the North Korean tensions. They also acknowledged the importance of the role China is playing in its dealings with its North Korean ally.

Kishida says the international community should prioritize efforts to implement the existing U.N. Security Council resolutions barring North Korea's missile and nuclear technology more thoroughly. He says Japan and the U.S. also started discussing the sanctions on North Korea, but did not elaborate.

Experts have said the sanctions have been largely ineffective because North Korea still has trade and investment with China and Russia.

Kishida says: "We need to keep studying what could be the most effective while monitoring how North Korea would respond."

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he and South Korean President Moon Jae-in discussed by phone North Korea's latest missile test, while his top national security adviser also spoke with his U.S. counterpart.

Abe says "Japan is closely cooperating with the U.S. and South Korea and analyzing the situation as we firmly respond to the development."

It was his second appearance before reporters Sunday after North Korea fired the missile that Japanese officials say may have been a new type given its flight time and unusually high altitude.

Abe added that the three countries also seek to cooperate with China and Russia to pressure North Korea to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions to stop further missile and nuclear tests.

The White House says President Donald Trump "cannot imagine that Russia is pleased" with North Korea's latest missile test because the missile landed so close to Russian soil.

In a statement issued Saturday night, the White House press secretary points out that the missile landed closer to Russia than to Japan.

The White House says North Korea has been "a flagrant menace for far too long." And it says South Korea and Japan have been watching this situation closely with the U.S.

The statement says the U.S. maintains its "ironclad commitment" to stand with its allies in the face of the serious threat posed by North Korea. And the White House says the latest "provocation" should serve as a call for all nations to implement far stronger sanctions against the North.

Japan's defense minister says the missile test-fired by North Korea might have been a new type given the altitude and duration of its flight.

Defense Minister Tomomi Inada told reporters there is a possibility that it was a new type of ballistic missile, saying it flew Sunday for about 30 minutes and an altitude exceeding 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles). She says more analysis was needed.

Earlier, Japanese officials said the missile landed in the Sea of Japan but outside the country's exclusive economic zone.

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in has strongly condemned the launch, saying there was still the possibility of dialogue with North Korea but that Seoul would deal sternly with any such provocations.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has strongly condemned rival North Korea's missile test-launch as a "clear" violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a "serious challenge" to international peace and security.

According to senior presidential secretary Yoon Young-chan, Moon expressed "deep regret" over the fact this "provocation" occurred just days after a new government was sworn in in South Korea.

Yoon quoted Moon as saying South Korea is "leaving open the possibility of dialogue with North Korea, but we should sternly deal with a provocation to prevent North Korea from miscalculating."

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says the missile test-fired by North Korea flew 800 kilometers (500 miles) for about 30 minutes and landed in the Sea of Japan, but not inside Japan's exclusive economic zone.

He says there are no reports indicating there was any safety impact on aircraft and ship transport.

He says the missile was not flying toward Japan and that the country did not launch a safety alert system.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters Sunday that the launch, which is banned by the United Nations, is "absolutely unacceptable" and that Japan will respond resolutely.

He says officials are studying possible implications of the launch that came days after South Korea's new president took office and an international conference is being hosted by China.

Japan also lodged protest to North Korea over the missile launch through the Japanese Embassy in Beijing.

NZ Herald