North Korea fired another missile into the Japan controlled sea, drawing an annoyed response from Tokyo and ramping up anxiety with the United States and South Korea.
Wednesday morning at 7.50 minutes the missile was launched from the east coast. It fell in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, 155 miles west of Japan’s coast, crossing after about 1,000 kilometers. That is the highest till date for North Korea.
North Korea launched two missiles on Wednesday morning. One collapsed immediately after launching.
Though South Korea had been the target until, this was the first time North Korea launched a missile targeting Japan. Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe said, “It’s a serious threat against our country’s security. This is an outrageous act that cannot be tolerated.”
The United States condemned what it called a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Korea’s use of ballistic missile technology.
“This provocation only serves to increase the international community’s resolve to counter (North Korea’s) prohibited activities,” said Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross.
Japan’s top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said, “From the perspective of the safety of aircraft and ships, it is an extremely problematic, dangerous act,”
The missile launch started on July 19. It launched three ballistic missiles – including one Rodong – in an exercise that the North said simulated a nuclear strike on the South. North Korea has conducted several weapons tests in recent months, and in January it conducted what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb test — although experts have expressed doubts that it was a hydrogen bomb.
North Korea on Feb. 7 launched a long-range rocket that it claimed was for a satellite but which has been called a thinly veiled ballistic missile test. The United States and the United Nations instituted strict new sanctions in response.
