Im Christian Fraser in london. Katty kay is off today. 30 minutes. That is how long it would take for an inter continental Ballistic Missile to reach la from north korea. There is no consensus on how far pyongyang has advanced in developing such a weapon. 0r whether they have the capability to arm it with a Nuclear Warhead. But some experts suggests the type of missile they have just tested might already be able to reach alaska, and with further refinement could put the major cities in the United States within reach. That, says donald trump, will never happen. But how will they stop kim jung un, a man who is seemingly immune to any form of deterrent. 0ur Diplomatic CorrespondentJames Landale reports. This is the moment that north korea says it became a major power. The launch of a missile that it claims can reach across continents and deliver Nuclear Weapons as far away as the United States. The news was announced on State Television with barely constrained joy. We have become a Nuclear Power with intercontinental Ballistic Missile the presenter said, showing the handwritten order given by the countrys leader, kim jong un. He personally supervised the launch of a missile which he believes will secure him power, protect his people and dismay his opponents. If north korea ignores our militarys warning and continues provocations, we are clearly warning kim jong uns regime will face destruction. This is the missile that could carry the regimes Nuclear Weapons. It was launched from an airfield here in Western North korea, and it was aimed at a steep angle, and rose to an altitude of about 1,700 miles its claimed, thought to be the highest any north Korean Missile has got to. It then landed 37 minutes later more than 500 miles away, somewhere the sea towards japan. The key point is that if this missile were fired at a more Shallow Angle it might have the power to reach potentially more than 3,400 miles, the minimum defined range for an intercontinental Ballistic Missile. And, if so, that could mean reaching as far as alaska on the mainland of the United States. The Pressure Being applied internationally is having very little effect on changing the tactics of the regime towards these developments. Its also significant as well because it has been reported that it is an intercontinental Ballistic Missile which means north korea are making tangible steps towards being able to target the us. Experts said it was still not clear if north korea had the technology needed to protect a warhead on re entry and guide it to its target, but if north Korean Missiles can now reach the us, it is a significant step forward and one that President Trump said earlier this yearjust wouldnt happen. Today in a tweet he again urged china to put pressure on north korea, but so far china has shown no willingness to do that. The president of china was in russia today, both he and president putin called for a freeze on north koreas Nuclear Weapons programme and suspension of exercises by the us and north korea. The fear among diplomats is the dispute could destabilise an already tense region, packed full of conventional weapons. At this weekends 620 summit, all sides will be looking for answers. Some of the strongest reaction today has come from japanese Prime Minister. The launch, said shinzo abe, clearly shows that the threat has grown. Im joined here in the studio by shin ichi iida, minister for Public Diplomacy at the Japanese Embassy here in london. Thank you for being with us. My pleasure. We have not yet talk about the direction in which the missile flew. Where did it land . It landed 100 miles from the Japanese Archipelago is, very close to japan. It is hundreds of miles from the japanese land archipelago, and that is causing massive concern amongst japanese people, and, of course, as you mentioned in your initial presentation, there was a good possibility that they have launched a pretty sophisticated missile and it isa a pretty sophisticated missile and it is a clear indication that the north korea threat is not only to the region but also to the world, andi the region but also to the world, and i think it is critically important to send a strong message to north korea and closely coordinate and strengthened the pressure through economic sanctions. Of course we are hearing a lot of rhetoric from washington, that patience has run out and military action is obviously on the table, but we dont know what that will be or what it would involve but if there was a Military Strike the implications forjapan would be severe. The Prime Minister and other high ranking officials have expressed again and again thatjapan supports the Trump Administration position that all options are on the table. You do not rule out a Military Strike . Guild ourfirst table. You do not rule out a Military Strike . Guild our first and foremost priority is to resolve this north Korea Nuclear and missile issue through diplomatic efforts. The Un Security Council has passed a very strong resolution last month and the us have announced a new additional economic sanctions against north korea. I think it is quite important to rigorously and fairly implement the economic sanction fairly implement the economic sanction measures fairly implement the economic sanction measures that have been agreed upon by various countries concerned so that we can get under the international coordinated Effo Rts The International coordinated efforts to give the strongest ever pressure against north korea so that it will come to sensors and for that purpose i must reiterate that china can play a critical role, because, after all, 90 of north korean trade on value terms is with china. We we re on value terms is with china. We were talking before we came negative about how this comes so close to the japanese coast and you said it was very deliberate. Does that make a debate in japan was very deliberate. Does that make a debate injapan about a Missile Defence shield . There was a discussion, and also a project going on for a Missile Defence mechanism, in close cooperation with the United States, who are very important part of it. My point is that military actions are not the primary course of action that we should take at the moment. The most important thing at the moment is too closely coordinate not only just amongst japan the moment is too closely coordinate not Onlyjust Amongstjapan and the us but in a way to include china and russia. We have had Six Party Talks which are very effective in relation to north korea and they have agreed economic sanctions but they must be implemented fairly and rigorously and what is making it possible for the north koreans to develop Nuclear Weapons and ballistic rep missiles is the massive foreign currency revenue and we need to hit that and thatis revenue and we need to hit that and that is a very important point. Thank you very much for being with us. Thank you very much for being with us. We had there that diplomacy is the way that regional departments would want to go but. Well, last week President Trumps National Security advisor hr mcmaster spoke about the changing threat from north korea and need to explore all options. Will be seen are really two fundamental things that have changed. The threat is now much more immediate so it clear that we cannot repeat the same approach, failed approach, of the past. The second is the recognition that previous approaches have not worked and so the definition of insanity would be to continue to do the same thing and expecting different results. In washington we are joined by kurt volker, the former Us Ambassador to nato who now serves as the Executive Director of the mccain institute. Hello. Hello. How part do you think washington Will Let Pyongyang go before it is going to have to change the equation . Well, i think there is still some room to go before there isa still some room to go before there is a great confidence that north korea has the real ability to fire a missile and hit the us. The test that we saw is an incentive for the us, china and others in the region to get much more serious even than we have already been about trying to get north korea to change course. As yourjapanese guest just said, get north korea to change course. As Yourjapanese Guestjust said, the goal is not to use military force, the goal is to find economic and other leaders that cause north korea to change behaviour and frankly most of those in the hands of china summit will be ramped up effort and an effort to try and get north korea to stop where it is and reverse course. You would accept, as our previous guest just accepted, course. You would accept, as our previous guestjust accepted, that so previous guestjust accepted, that so far diplomacy has failed. We all know that china quite likes having north korea on its border, rather that than having south korea on its border, along with us troops. That is right, but if the militant north korea brings Missile Defences from the us into the area and a larger Military Presence on the korean peninsular none of that is anything that china wants and it is in fact in their interest to act before that does happen. It is obviously unacceptable does happen. It is obviously u na cce pta ble to does happen. It is obviously unacceptable to everybody that north korea keeps escalating the situation as it is, but we heard there that the Military Option has been reviewed. If there was a Military Option, what would it look like . Well, i think it would have to be a last resort because you have in seoul a very Large Population within range of Artillery Fire from north korea and we have north korea that possess a Nuclear Device that even if it cannot be not very far can still cause a lot of damage so it would have to be something very swift and subtle but it would really bea swift and subtle but it would really be a last resort because we do not wa nt to be a last resort because we do not want to risk any of those casualties orany want to risk any of those casualties or any loss of life that might occur. There is a very strong likelihood that these missiles are on mobile launchers so even with a pre emptive strike, you would not get all the missiles. I have a lot of confidence in us capabilities and intelligence so i think if we got that point i have a lot of confidence in the ability to succeed but obviously no one wants to get to that point. Very good of you to be with us. Thank you forjoining us. Katty kay might be taking july 11th off, but im very pleased to report that our resident expert and political analyst ron christie is hard at work, and he is going to be with us throughout the program. Hello. Good afternoon, christian. I can see your us flag pins your lapels you are in the 11th ofjuly spirit. Write i am in the spirit and enjoying the independence and the celebration of the of the United States. Donald trump is starting to collide with the harsh reality of north korea. There are no good options in this, are there . There are not. Frankly, this is the first Foreign Policy crisis of his administration. President trump has been looking to mexico and canada and talking about we negotiating trade deals. The United States finds itself this morning in the position that if, in fact, this missile that was launched by career is any indication of their new Technological Prowess you have a missile that could potentially hit alaska or even San Francisco so the geostrategic supporters importance of meeting with the g20 this weekend has taken on an even greater importance for this president , his first Foreign Policy crisis. Looking back at the tweet that we referred to in the report, it came out before the inauguration. Donald trump said that north korea stated it was in the final stages of developing Nuclear Weapons capable of reaching parts of the us, it wont happen. Clearly, one he was getting his pre president ial briefing this was foremost in his mind. There are people around the world who are worried about this president because he is impulsive and he easily rattled. You know the inside track in the white house. What sort of advice will he be getting . He will be getting the best and brightest advice. I will guarantee you this morning there will have been in the situation room, ina will have been in the situation room, in a secure facility in the basement of the west wing of the white house, you have military Intelligence Officers who man these positions 24 hour the day and you have a specific north korean desk and what they did was prepare a matrix for him, giving him a sense of exactly what happened and what time it happened and the potential threat to the United States and our allies. Having been in a situation with president bush, i can tell you that these are very dedicated and great individuals who are in the best spot to give President Trump the most current and important strategic advice for him to make decisions. Current and important strategic advice for him to make decisionsm the end it comes down to him. In the end it does come down to him and it comes down to the National Security advisor and the focus of his inner circle and the question i am thinking about right now is what is the president ial take on this . Does he view this, as i do, as a very significant threat and an escalation of threat from north korea or do you look at the tweety sent out this morning and he was referring to the north korean dictator saying, does this guy have anything better to do this guy have anything better to do this time . So i hope that his mindset is in the right place as we look at this very importantjuncture with relations with north korea and the rest of the world. We will have more from you in a moment. The European Parliament has 751 elected representatives and once a month the parliament moves from brussels to strasbourg, its official home in northern france. Today the invited guest was the Prime Minister of malta, his country is one of the smallest members of the union, it has spent the last six months running the eus rotating presidency. But the Parliamentary Chamber was empty. Barely 30 elected officials turned out to hear the speech. A lack of respect . Well, it drew this response from the European Commission president , jean claude junker. There are only a few members in here to control the commission. You are ridiculous. He speaks french. He speaks french. I will never again attend a meeting of this kind. The commission is under the control of the parliament that the Parliament House to respect even the president s of smaller countries and what the parliament is not doing. That was a rather Feisty Exchange with the president of the parliament. A little earlier i spoke with chris morris, a long time correspondent in brussels. More than once or twice you made this visit from brussels to strasbourg and it is costly for the parliament to move. Given some of the criticism the parliament receives it could well do without criticism from one of their own. They could, but i can see his point. He has come all the way down from brussels to strasbourg which is a difficult journey. The brussels to strasbourg which is a difficultjourney. The Prime Minister of malta has flown up from malta and be with him and only 30 meps turnout. There are supposed to be 751 meps. They will not always all be there but you would hope that if the president of the commission and the Prime Minister who has been running eu business for the last six months turn up then more than 30 should be bothered to come and listen to them talk. He was a bit undiplomatic but he sometimes is and he sometimes says what he thinks.