Early on Tuesday morning, North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific waters off the northern region of Hokkaido, South Korea and Japan said, in what Reuters called "a sharp escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula." The last North Korean projectile to fly in Japanese airspace was in 2009, which North Korea claimed was a communications satellite into orbit but the US and other nations suspected was a ballistic missile test. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported the missile broke into three pieces and fell into the waters off Hokkaido.
The missile was launched from the Sunan region near the North Korean capital Pyongyang around 6 a.m. local time and flew 2,700 km (1,678 miles), reaching the altitude of about 550 km.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the North Korean missile fell into the sea 1,180 km (733 miles) east of the Cape of Erimo on Hokkaido. Suga called the flight "an unprecedented, serious and grave threat to our nation,” adding the government had protested the move in the strongest terms and said the launch "was a clear violation of United Nations resolutions" and Japan will work closely with the United States, South Korea and other concerned nations on a response.
The Japanese government’s J-Alert warning system advised people in the area to take precautions, urging citizens to take refuge in solid buildings or underground shelters. The Japanese military did not attempt to shoot down the missile, which passed over Japanese territory around 6:06 a.m. time (2106 GMT).
peace.
Dangerous play and retoric.
Certainly is :(
UPDATE =
The Pentagon confirms North Korea conducted a missile launch in last 90 minutes which flew over Japan, and adds that the North Korea missile didn't threaten North America.
“We assess North Korea conducted a missile launch within the last 90 minutes. We can confirm that the missile launched by North Korea flew over Japan,” Pentagon says in statement.
U.S. says it’s still assessing launch; NORAD determined launch did not pose a threat to North America
“We are working closely with Pacific Command, Strategic Command and NORAD and will provide an update as soon as possible”
Update: Japan PM Abe, speaking to reporters in Tokyo after the launch, said North Korea appears to have fired a missile that flew over Japan. According to subsequent reports as many as three separate ballistic missiles may have been launched.
"It seems that DPRK missile passed over our airspace," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said adding that the government was urgently collecting intelligence on the incident and doing everything to ensure the safety of its citizens.
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