United States President Donald Trump on Saturday assured full support to Japan after North Korea test-launched its latest missile. “I just want everybody to understand, and fully know, that the United States of America is behind Japan, our great ally, 100 percent,” Trump said on Saturday night during a joint press briefing with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida.

Trump’s comments came hours after North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan off its east coast, reported Reuters. This is the first such test by North Korea since Trump took office on January 20. The test-fire launched on Sunday morning reached an altitude of about 550km.

A US official said the Trump administration had been expecting such a move from North Korea. However, he said the US would avoid escalation. Japanese officials said the missile did not reach its waters, reported BBC.

Abe called on North Korea to comply with the United Nations Security Council resolution. “North Korea’s most recent missile launch is absolutely intolerable,” Abe said, according to The Chicago Tribune.

At a press conference on Friday in Washington DC, Trump had said the US is committed to the security of Japan and to strengthen their “very crucial alliance”, Reuters reported. A US-Japan joint statement on Friday had urged “North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs”.

Trump had promised American voters that his administration would force Tokyo to pay more for US defense aid. Before the presidential elections, he had also accused Japan of stealing US jobs and had vowed to change that. However, none of that came up during the meeting of the two leaders on Saturday.

Instead, they played a round of golf at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump tweeted a picture from the game and said he was having a “great time” hosting Abe in the US.