SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) -North Korea fired a ballistic missile of intermediate vary or longer on Thursday, South Korea and Japan mentioned, prompting an alert for residents in Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido to take cowl.
Japanese authorities later retracted the warning, saying the nation’s J-Alert emergency warning system had made an inaccurate prediction the missile would fall close to the island.
The missile flew about 1,000 km (620 miles), South Korea’s navy mentioned, calling it a “grave provocation”. The apogee, or most altitude of the missile, has not been disclosed.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan mentioned his authorities would maintain a Nationwide Safety Council assembly on the launch.
Japan’s defence minister, Yasukazu Hamada, mentioned the missile appeared to have been fired eastward at a excessive angle. He mentioned the missile didn’t fall in Japanese territory, and that the defence ministry was analysing the launch for extra particulars.
Japan’s coast guard mentioned the projectile had fallen within the sea to the east of North Korea. Hamada mentioned he couldn’t verify whether or not the missile flew over Japan’s unique financial zone.
There have been issues with J-Alert earlier than.
In October, an evacuation warning was issued when a missile overflew Japan but it surely got here so late most individuals weren’t conscious of it till the projectile had fallen into the Pacific.
A month later, a warning was erroneously issued saying a missile had overflown Japan.
On Thursday, a pupil advised Japanese broadcaster NHK that the alert brought about momentary alarm at a practice station in Hokkaido.
“For a second within the practice there was panic, however a station employee mentioned to settle down, and folks did,” mentioned the person, whom NHK didn’t title.
The launch got here days after North Korean chief Kim Jong Un referred to as for strengthening the nation’s battle deterrence in a “extra sensible and offensive” method to counter Pyongyang referred to as strikes of aggression by the US.
The missile was fired at 7:23 a.m. (2223 GMT on Wednesday) from close to Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Workers mentioned.
The South Korean navy mentioned it was on excessive alert and coordinating intently with the US.
North Korea has criticised a latest collection of joint navy workout routines between the U.S. and South Korea as escalating tensions, stepping up its weapons assessments in latest months.