Bishop off to Korea to talk nuke threat

The North Korea nuclear threat will occupy Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's agenda when she visits South Korea on Friday.

Pyongyang at the weekend fired a ballistic missile that flew about 500km towards Japan before splashing into the sea east of the Korean peninsula.

It was the first major international security challenge since US President Donald Trump came to power.

Ms Bishop will meet with senior government figures including former president Lee Myeong-bak and national security director Kim Kwan-jin to discuss strategic challenges during the two day visit.

She'll meet key business representatives to promote Australia's energy sector.

Ms Bishop will also launch an internship and mentoring network as part of the New Colombo Plan, which gives Australian students opportunities to study in Asia.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has characterised North Korea threat as the most pressing challenge in 2017.

In his New Year's speech, leader Kim Jong Un said North Korea was close to test launching an intercontinental ballistic missiles and state media have said a launch could come at any time.