North Korea yesterday fired a missile that flew over Japan’s northern Hokkaido island far out into the Pacific Ocean, South Korean and Japanese officials said.
The missile flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific about 2,000km east of Hokkaido, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.
It reached an altitude of about 770km and flew for about 19 minutes over a distance of about 3,700km, South Korea’s military said.
Photo: AFP / South Korean Defence Ministry
“The range of this test was significant since North Korea demonstrated that it could reach Guam with this missile,” the Union of Concerned Scientists said in a statement.
However, it said the accuracy of the missile was low, so it would be difficult to destroy the US Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.
Warning announcements blared at about 7am in parts of northern Japan, while many residents received alerts on their mobile phones or saw warnings on television telling them to seek refuge.
US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said the launch “put millions of Japanese into duck and cover,” although residents of northern Japan appeared calm and went about their business as usual.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered officials to analyze and prepare for possible new North Korean threats, including electromagnetic pulse and biochemical attacks, a spokesman said.
The UN Security Council was to meet at 3pm yesterday in the US at the request of the US and Japan, diplomats said.
South Korea said it had fired a missile test into the sea to coincide with North Korea’s launch and the presidential Blue House has called a National Security Council meeting. Japan also convened a National Security Council meeting.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswomen Hua Chunying (華春瑩) denied that China held the key to easing tension on the Korean Peninsula and said that duty lies with the parties directly involved.
“Any attempt to wash their hands of the issue is irresponsible and unhelpful for its resolution,” she said, reiterating China’s position that sanctions are only effective if paired with talks.
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