Alarm as N Korean missile fired over Japan

NORTH KOREA fired a ballistic missile which was last night reported to have passed over Japan before landing in the sea, heightening international tensions.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the South Korean and US militaries were analysing the launch and did not immediately confirm how far the projectile travelled and where it landed.

No effort was made by the Japanese to shoot down the missile, which flew over Japanese territory at dawn. The missile is reported to have broken into three pieces and led to government warnings in Japan, although it does not appear to have caused any damage on the ground.

The launch comes days after the North fired what was assessed as three short-range ballistic missiles into the sea and a month after its second flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts say could reach deep into the US mainland when perfected.

The North has also threatened to fire some of its missiles towards Guam as retaliation for annual war games between the United States and South Korea.

The new missile launch comes as North Korea wants to take its complaints about the war games to the UN Security Council, saying the annual manoeuvres are recklessly provocative at a time of tension.

The letter, dated Friday, asks Egypt as Security Council president to schedule a discussion urgently.

The Egyptian mission did not have any immediate comment on Monday.

Pyongyang regularly argues that the US-South Korean military exercises are an invasion rehearsal.