New Delhi: North Korea fired three ballistic missiles on Thursday the latest in an unprecedented year of missile testing. The fresh drill triggered an alert for residents in parts of central and northern Japan to seek shelter.
According to news agency Reuters, the launches come a day after North Korea fired at least 23 missiles, the highest in a single day. One out of those even landed off South Korea’s coast for the first time.
In northern Japan, residents of Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata were warned on Thursday to seek shelter indoors, the J-Alert Emergency Broadcasting System.
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An initial government warning said that a missile had overflown Japan, Tokyo later said that was incorrect, Reuters reported.
Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the government lost track of the first missile over the Sea of Japan, leading to the correction in its earlier announcement that it had flown over Japan.
“We detected a launch that showed the potential to fly over Japan and therefore triggered the J Alert, but after checking the flight we confirmed that it had not passed over Japan,” Hamada said, as quoted by Reuters.
According to the Defence Minister, the first missile flew to an altitude of about 2,000 kilometres and a range of 750 kilometres.
The flight pattern employed is called a “lofted trajectory” wherein a missile is fired high into space to avoid flying over neighbouring countries.
Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “North Korea’s repeated missile launches are an outrage and absolutely cannot be forgiven”, Reuters reported.
The Yonhap news agency reported the first missile went through stage separation, indicating that it may be a long-range weapon like an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The long-range missile was launched from near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
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Nearly an hour after the first launch, South Korea’s military and the Japanese coast guard reported a second and third launch from North Korea. South Korea informed that both of those were short-range missiles fired from Kaechon, north of Pyongyang.
North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile during its latest round of weapons tests Thursday morning, but the launch was “presumed to have ended in failure”, Yonhap News Agency reports quoting South Korean military.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has termed the flights as “territorial encroachment” while Washington denounced them as “reckless”.
After Wednesday’s barrage, South Korea issued rare air raid warnings and launched its own missiles in response.
The record 23 launches came after Pyongyang demanded that the United States and South Korea stop large-scale military exercises. “Military rashness and provocation can be no longer tolerated,” North Korea stated, Reuters reported.
The allies have been conducting one of the largest ever air exercises including hundreds of South Korean and U.S. warplanes such as F-35 fighters staging around-the-clock simulated missions.
North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan on October 4, the first time in five years. This prompted a warning for residents there to take cover. It is to date the farthest North Korea has ever fired a missile.