1. North Korea fires missile over Japan.
North Korea has fired a missile over Japan and into the Pacific waters off the northern region of Hokkaido, in a sharp escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.
South Korea’s military said the missile was launched from the Sunan region near the North Korean capital Pyongyang just before 6am (7am AEST). It flew 2700km, reaching an altitude of about 550km.
“It is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat to our nation,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a briefing, adding the government had protested the move in the strongest terms.
Suga said the launch was a clear violation of United Nations resolutions and Japan will work closely with the United States, South Korea and other concerned nations on a response.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this month threatened to fire missiles into the sea near the US Pacific territory of Guam, and President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the United States.
The last North Korean projectile to fly over Japan was in 2009.
2. Malcolm Turnbull “very confident” he will win next election.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has told 7:30’s Leigh Sales on the ABC he is “very confident” he will win the next election.
“We will continue to deliver the economic leadership that is showing strong growth in jobs,” was the point he kept returning to during the 25-minute interview on Monday night.
When pressed as to how this economic leadership is benefiting Australian families – people who might be “struggling to pay for childcare, who go to the emergency room at the hospital and have a long wait, who commute for more than an hour to work every day”, as Sales asked – the Prime Minister doubled down.