North Korea's latest missile launch over Japan is a sign of the rogue nation's frustration at being slapped with increased sanctions, Malcolm Turnbull says.
Pyongyang fired an unidentified missile on Friday, according to South Korea's military.
"This is another dangerous, reckless, criminal act by the North Korean regime threatening the stability of the region and the world and we condemn it utterly," the prime minister told Sky News.
Mr Turnbull said the missile launch and violent propaganda outbursts showed the sanctions were working.
He does not accept that applying further pressure on North Korea would put Japan at further risk.
"Nobody wants to see a war on the Korean Peninsula," he later told reporters.
"If Kim Jong Un were to start a war, to attack the United States or one of its allies, he would be signing a suicide note.
"That would be the end for his government and thousands and thousands of people would die."
Mr Turnbull emphasised Australia's alliance with the US and how both nations would come to the other's aid in the event of an attack.
But he noted there was no formal alliance with Japan.
"I'm not going to speculate about any other scenarios," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce warned the range of the missiles being tested could potentially reach South Australia.
"If you have now set off a hydrogen bomb and you have the capacity to miniaturise it to vaporise and murder millions and millions of people, the world is not going to stand idly by," he told reporters.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop understands it was an intermediate-range missile that flew further than previous tests.
"It seems that on each occasion (North Korea) gains greater capability," she said.
Ms Bishop will discuss the situation in North Korea at the UN General Assembly in New York next week.
