‘Take cover’: N Korea fires rocket over Japan
Tokyo vows to take action to protect its people as Kim Jong-un’s latest move heightens tensions
North Korea fired a missile over Japan last night in a significant escalation of its military posturing. Tokyo warned citizens in the north of the country to take cover as the missile was in the air and later described the launch as a “grave security threat to Japan”. The missile, the first to fly over the country since 2009, broke into three pieces and landed in the sea, officials said. Japan’s military made no attempts to shoot down the missile.
NORTH KOREA fired a missile over Japan last night, officials said, as Tokyo warned citizens in the north of the country to take cover.
Japan’s nationwide J-alert warning system advised citizens in its northern Hokkaido island via radio, television and mobile phones to get inside a “sturdy building or basement”, as the missile headed towards land in what was a significant escalation of Kim Jong-un’s military posturing.
The missile later broke into three pieces and landed in the sea. It flew for around 1,700 miles, reaching a maximum altitude of 350 miles, South Korean officials said. The Pentagon confirmed the launch. The Japanese military made no attempt to shoot down the unidentified rocket.
North Korea has sent a missile over Japan before – in 1998 and again in 2009, although Pyongyang claimed the latter was a satellite launch. Last night’s firing came at a time of extreme tensions in the region over Pyongyang’s military ambitions.
Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, said that he would take all measures necessary to protect the Japanese republic. “We will make utmost efforts to firmly protect the lives of the people,” Mr Abe, who was visibly angry, told reporters in brief remarks as he entered his office for emergency meetings on the missile firing.
He later added: “Their outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages the regional peace and security.”
Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said the launch posed “a serious, grave security threat to Japan”. South Korea’s national security council held an emergency meeting last night. Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, last night said he was “outraged at (the) reckless provocation by North Korea”.
Theresa May is flying to Japan tomorrow for trade talks. Kim Jong-un has overseen more than 80 missile tests – more than his father and grandfather combined.
Last night’s launch may be only the first significant provocation from North Korea in response to the military exercises taking place in South Korea, with officials warning that Pyongyang may be preparing to carry out a sixth underground nuclear test. South Korea’s national security service has informed political leaders that it has detected preparations at the North’s Punggye-ri proving grounds, where the previous five tests were conducted.
Last Saturday Kim’s regime fired several short-range projectiles into the sea off its east coast in what was thought to be a response to the Us-south Korean joint military exercises. On July 28 it test-fired missiles that could have been designed to reach 6,200 miles, putting parts of the US mainland within reach.
Japan’s military is in the process of practising deploying anti-missile batteries at three US bases in Japan.