In Escalation, North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Over Japan

In Escalation, North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Over Japan

North Korea has fired an unidentified ballistic missile over Japan, in an escalation not seen in years, prompting Tokyo to evacuate some residents in the northern prefectures of Hokkaido and Aomori on Tuesday morning.

Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary, told reporters the missile was launched at 7:22 a.m., before splashing 22 minutes later into the Pacific Ocean outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) called the projectile an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), launched from North Korea's northern Jagang area, flying a distance of 4,500 kilometers with a flight altitude of 970 kilometers.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who marks his one-year anniversary as head of state on Tuesday, strongly condemned the missile launch, calling it an “outrageous” act.

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada later added the missile flew over Japan for about one minute, soaring further than previous intermediate-range missiles, estimated at 4,600 kilometers, before landing in waters some 3,200 kilometers east of Japan.

That the missile was shot over Japanese territory takes the escalatory mood in the region even higher, a decision Adrienne Watson, the U.S. National Security Council spokesperson, in a statement Tuesday. described as “dangerous and reckless” and shows North Korea’s “blatant disregard for United Nations Security Council resolutions and international safety norms.”