A medium-range ballistic missile fired yesterday by North Korea flew about 1,000km and landed near Japan’s territorial waters, Seoul and Tokyo officials said, one of the longest flights by a North Korean missile.
The US Strategic Command said North Korea fired two presumed Rodong missiles simultaneously, not just one. The command’s statement said initial indications reveal one of the missiles exploded immediately after launch, while the second was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan.
North Korea has recently claimed a series of technical breakthroughs in its goal of acquiring a long-range nuclear missile capable of reaching the continental US.
Photo: AFP / KCNA
South Korean defense officials say North Korea does not yet have such a weapon, but some civilian experts believe the North has the technology to mount warheads on shorter-range Rodong and Scud missiles that can strike South Korea and Japan.
According to the South Korean and Japanese announcements, one suspected Rodong missile lifted off from the North’s western Hwanghae Province and flew across the nation, before falling in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it “strongly condemns” the missile launch because it explicitly shows the North’s intentions of being able to launch missile attacks on South Korea and neighboring nations.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense said the missile landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the 370km offshore area where a nation has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting resources.
Japanese media reported it was the first North Korean missile that had splashed down in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
“It imposes a serious threat to Japan’s security and it is an unforgivable act of violence toward Japan’s security,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
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