North Korea fires missile over Japan
Test escalates already heightened tensions
North Korea launched a ballistic missile Tuesday that flew over Japan, escalating already heightened tensions with the United States and its allies over its nuclear and missile weapons development.
The Pentagon confirmed the missile launch, saying it was being assessed.
“North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America,” according to a Pentagon statement.
The Japanese government issued an immediate rebuke. Residents in several prefectures in northern regions of Japan were told to take cover.
“We will make utmost efforts to firmly protect the lives of the people,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said as he entered emergency meetings on the missile firing.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile traveled about 1,700 miles and reached a maximum height of 341 miles as it flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
It was not clear how Washington would react to the launch, which comes amid a growing con- frontation between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump.
The latest launch came days after North Korea fired three shortrange ballistic missiles into the sea and a month after its second flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts said could reach deep into the U.S. mainland when perfected.
North Korea has threatened to fire missiles off the coast of Guam, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific. Trump said North Korea would be met with “fire and fury” if it didn’t back off its threats. None of the recent missile launches appeared to be aimed toward Guam.
This month, U.S. and South Korean forces went ahead with their annual joint military exercises intended to practice for a possible attack from North Korea, which assailed the training as being provocative.
Tuesday’s launch is the second time that North Korea has fired a projectile over Japan.
On Sept. 1, 1998, the North fired a Taepodong-1 rocket that passed without permission through Japanese airspace.
The rocket splashed into the ocean.
Under Kim, North Korea has accelerated the development of nuclear weapons and the missiles capable of carrying them. Its stat- ed aim is to develop weapons that could reach the U.S. mainland to deter an attack by American forces.
The United Nations has repeatedly condemned North Korea’s weapons programs and imposed a series of ever-tightening economic sanctions that the reclusive nation has found ways to evade.
Trump has urged China to play a more active role in persuading Kim to halt his weapons programs since China is North Korea’s closest political ally. China has pledged to try to restrain North Korea’s tests but appealed to Trump to lower his aggressive rhetoric.