SEOUL: North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan on Thursday, prompting Japan to order residents on an island to take shelter as a precaution.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North Korean missile flew toward the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan but gave no further details, such as how far it flew and exactly what type of weapon the North launched. Japan said the missile landed in the water but did not immediately elaborate.
Earlier, the launch had prompted the Japanese government to urge people to seek shelter on the northernmost island of Hokkaido.
Japanese media later reported that the Japanese government retracted the alert and emergency notice to local governments, saying there was no possibility of a missile landing in the Hokkaido area.
The launch, the latest in the North’s barrage of weapons tests this year, came days after its leader, Kim Jong Un, vowed to enhance his nuclear arsenal in more “practical and offensive” ways.
Japan issued a similar evacuation order in October last year when a North Korean intermediate-range missile flew over Japan in a launch that demonstrated a potential to reach the U.S. Pacific Territory of Guam.
At the time, Japanese authorities alerted residents in its northeastern regions to seek shelter and halted trains, although no damage was reported before the weapon landed in the Pacific.
This year, North Korea has launched about 30 missiles in response to South Korean-U.S. military drills that it views as a rehearsal for an invasion.
South Korean and U.S. officials say their drills are defensive in nature and were arranged to respond to North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats.
During a military meeting Monday, Kim reviewed the country’s front-line attack plans and various combat documents and stressed the need to bolster his nuclear deterrent with “increasing speed on a more practical and offensive” manner, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.
KCNA said that meeting discussed unspecified issues related to strengthening defense capacities and perfecting war preparations to counter the threat posed by its rivals’ military drills.
(AP/VOA)
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