N. Korea missile lands in Japan EEZ
SEOUL— North Korea on Monday fired a shortrange ballistic missile that landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone where fishing and cargo ships are active, drawing condemnation from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “We absolutely cannot accept North Korea’s repeated provocation despite repeated warnings,” Abe said.
SEOUL— North Korea on Monday fired a short-range ballistic missile that landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) where fishing and cargo ships are active, according to the South Korean military and the Japanese government.
The launch was the latest in a string of missile tests as North Korea seeks to build nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that can reach the US mainland.
The suspected Scud-type missile launched from the coastal town of Wonsan flew about 450 kilometers, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The missile landed in Japan’s maritime EEZ, which is set about 370 km off the Japanese coast, said Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
Suga said there was no report of damage to planes or vessels in the area.
Security meeting
South Korean President Moon Jae-in called a meeting of his top security officials for later on Monday morning to discuss the missile launch, coming a week after the North last tested a ballistic missile, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan condemned the launch as a provocation.
“We absolutely cannot accept North Korea’s repeated provocations despite repeated warnings by the international community,” Abe said on Monday morning.
He added that leaders at the recent Group of 7 meeting in Taormina, Sicily, had confirmed that deterring North Korea’s nuclear ambitions was a “top priority” and that Japan would work closely with the United States and South Korea to “make the utmost efforts to ensure people’s safety.”
In a statement, South Ko- rea’s joint chiefs of staff warned North Korea’s repeated provocation would further deepen its international isolation.
North Korea is still thought to be several years from its goal of being able to target US mainland cities with a nucleartipped ICBM.
It has a strong arsenal of short- and medium-range missiles that could hit Japan and South Korea as well as US forces in the region, and it is working to perfect its longerrange missiles.
North Korea’s state-controlled media had no immediate comment.
New missile
But a day earlier, the North said leader Kim Jong-un had watched a successful test of a new type of antiaircraft guided weapon system.
It wasn’t clear from the state media report when the test happened.
Kim found that the weapon system’s ability to detect and track targets had “remarkably” improved and was more accurate, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
KCNA cited Kim as ordering officials to mass produce and deploy the system all over the country so as to “completely spoil the enemy’s wild dream to command the air.”
The North’s nuclear and missile programs are perhaps the biggest foreign policy challenges to the new leaders in Washington and Seoul.
US President Donald Trump has alternated between bellicosity and flattery in his public statements about North Korea, but his administration is still working to solidify a policy to handle its nuclear ambitions.
Monday’s launch was the third ballistic missile test by North Korea since South Ko- rea’s Moon was inaugurated on May 10.
He has signaled an interest in expanding civilian exchange with North Korea, but many analysts say he won’t likely push for any major rapprochement because North Korea has gone too far in developing its nuclear program.
The US Pacific Command said in a statement that it tracked a short-range missile for six minutes until it landed in the Sea of Japan.
Discussion with China
Suga, the Japanese Cabinet secretary, told reporters that the missile fell about 300 km north of the Oki islands in southwestern Japan and 500 km west of Sado island in central Japan.
Suga said Japanese officials would discuss North Korea with a senior foreign policy adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Yang Jiechi, who was scheduled to visit Japan later on Monday.
He said China had been increasingly stepping up and using its influence over North Korea and that the two sides would thoroughly discuss the situation.
Besides its regular ballistic missile tests, the North carried out two nuclear tests last year—in January and September.
Outside analysts believe North Korea may be able to arm some of its shorter-range missiles with nuclear warheads, though the exact state of the North’s secretive weapons program is unknown.
Despite the missile launches, South Korea under Moon has made tentative steps toward engaging the North by restarting stalled civilian aid and exchange programs.
It said last week it would allow a civic group to contact North Korea about potentially offering help in treating malaria, the first government approval on cross-border civilian exchanges since January 2016.