FURY AT MISSILE LAUNCH OVER JAPAN
NORTH Korea fired a missile over Japan yesterday in an “unprecedented, serious and grave threat” that marked a significant escalation in nuclear tensions.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to counter the communist nation’s growing aggression.
The Pentagon confirmed the launch and world leaders condemned the act as Mr Abe demanded increased pressure on the nuclear-armed state.
“Their outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages regional peace and security,” Mr Abe said in Tokyo.
The missile was fired early yesterday and no damage was reported, but it was roundly described as a dangerous escalation from Kim Jong-un and sparked widespread panic in Japan.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said she believed North Korea was ramping up its testing to improve its bargaining power with the international community.
“We have seen this pattern of behaviour by the North Korean regimes over a number of decades,” Ms Bishop said.
“They ramp up the provocative behaviour and it gets to a point where they then sit down and negotiate.”
Ms Bishop said Australia stood ready to assist Japan in any way it could.
“At this point, I understand the Japanese made the decision not to shoot it down,” she said.
“They were clearly tracking it, they have the capability to do that, and made the calculation it was not going to hit Japanese territory but would fall into the ocean. So there is obviously some value in leaving it rather than shooting it down.”
Ms Bishop said she expected new international sanctions on North Korea would be implemented next month and would have a “serious impact” on the nation.
She highlighted that China was playing a significant role in imposing the new sanctions.
Ms Bishop also said US President Donald Trump had made it clear all options were on the table for dealing with North Korea but the US was determined to resolve the tensions peacefully.
She rejected suggestions the Australian Government needed to consider a missile defence system, such as the THAAD system in South Korea. The system would not be appropriate for a country the size of Australia, she said.
Yesterday’s projectile overshot the country and eventually landed in the Pacific Ocean, but the threat was enough to spark widespread panic in Japan and thousands took shelter.
Authorities warned of a possible attack on cities within Hokkaido and other parts of northern Japan and local media instructed residents to “evacuate to a sturdy building or basement”.
It was the first missile to breach Japanese airspace since North Korea launched a satellite into orbit in December 2012. A projectile was shot by Pyongyang over Japan in 1998.
Yesterday’s missile was launched with “impeccable timing” by Kim Jong-un, said John Blaxland, director of the Australian National University’s Southeast Asia Unit and head of its Strategic and Defence Studies Centre.
President Trump would be tied up with Hurricane Harvey and would be unable to make good on his threats of “fire and fury”, Dr Blaxland said.
The international community was unlikely to do more than hold the line on its current economic sanctions but they would begin to bite within weeks, he said.
North Korea would be in for a tough winter if China and Russia, in particular, stood by the sanctions, Dr Blaxland said.