The Japanese authorities urged the population to take refuge from the projectile that exceeded 17 times the speed of sound
North Korea has fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile tonight that flew over Japan and led this country to activate its alarm system and urge its population to take refuge. The last time Pyongyang fired a missile over Japan was in 2017, amid heightened tensions between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump.
The South Korean military said it had “detected a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile that was launched from the Mupyong-ri area in Jagang province at around 7:23 a.m. (2223 GMT Monday) and passed over Japan in an easterly direction.” In a subsequent statement, he specified that the projectile flew 4,500 kilometers to an altitude of 970 kilometers and reached a speed of Mach 17, which is equivalent to 17 times the speed of sound.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol denounced “a provocation” that violates United Nations regulations and called for “a firm response and taking corresponding measures in cooperation with the United States and the international community.”
Tokyo also reported the firing of the missile by Pyongyang and issued an evacuation alert in two northern regions for their inhabitants to take refuge inside buildings or underground. “It is believed that a ballistic missile has passed over our country and has fallen into the Pacific Ocean. This is an act of violence after recent repeated firing of ballistic missiles. We strongly condemn it,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said North Korea “has fired Hwasong 12-type missiles four times in the past, so this may be the same type.” If confirmed, the flight distance, which Tokyo estimated at 4,600 km, would be a record for this type of projectile, the minister said.
US protests
The US Indo-Pacific Command condemned the North Korean launch and reaffirmed its commitment to the defense of Japan and South Korea. “The United States condemns these actions and calls on (North Korea) to refrain from further illegal and destabilizing acts,” it said in a statement issued Monday.
Similarly, the White House announced that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke separately with his peers from Japan and South Korea about the missile. “In both calls, the national security adviser consulted on appropriate and robust joint responses,” national security spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
With negotiations with Washington and Seoul long stalled, Kim redoubled his efforts to modernize the nuclear power’s arsenal and deployed a record number of weapons tests, including the first intercontinental missile launched since 2017. Last week, Pyongyang fired as many as four short-range ballistic missiles, including one just hours after US Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Seoul.
Large-scale naval exercises
On his trip, Harris traveled to the demilitarized zone that divides the peninsula to demonstrate the White House’s commitment to South Korea. In parallel to this escalation of tests of the communist country, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have intensified their joint military exercises. Days ago, Seoul and Washington deployed large-scale naval exercises off the peninsula and on Friday they are planning submarine maneuvers with Japan, the first in five years. These exercises upset North Korea, which sees them as rehearsals for an eventual invasion.
“If Pyongyang has fired a missile over Japan, this would mean a significant escalation in its recent provocations,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. But, according to him, “Pyongyang is still in the cycle of provocation and tests.” “The Kim regime is developing weapons such as tactical atomic warheads or submarine-fired ballistic missiles as part of a long-term strategy to outperform South Korea in an arms race and drive wedges between America’s allies,” he added.
Washington and Seoul have been warning for months that the communist country is preparing a new test of a nuclear weapon. According to them, this could happen shortly after the Communist Party of China Congress on October 16. North Korea, under multiple United Nations sanctions for its weapons programme, has so far carried out six nuclear weapons tests, the last in 2017.
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