North Korea has fired a missile into the sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula just hours before South Korea's new president was sworn into office. In what correspondents called a provocative move, the missile hit international waters in the Sea of Japan on the eve of President Roh Moo-hyun's inauguration. Guests including US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are in Seoul to attend the ceremony. The incident prompted sharp stock market falls in both South Korea and Japan. President Roh used his inauguration speech to urge North Korea to renounce its nuclear ambitions, the source of much recent regional tension.