Trump urges China to get 'heavy' with North Korea

US President Donald Trump said it was time for China to take decisive action against North Korea after Pyongyang's latest ballistic missile launch, urging Beijing to "end this nonsense once and for all".

"Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?" Trump said late on Monday, referring to his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-Un after South Korea's military reported that a ballistic missile had come down in the Sea of Japan. The US military also confirmed the launch.

"Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer," he wrote on Twitter.

"Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!"