North Korea fires ballistic missile over Japan in aggressive test-flight

Local TV images after North Korea has fired a missile that flew over northern Japan before crashing into the sea, the Japanese government says.
No effort was made by the Japanese to shoot down the missile, which was launched early in the morning local time, triggering safety warnings. — Local TV images after North Korea has fired a missile that flew over northern Japan before crashing into the sea, the Japanese government says. No effort was made by the Japanese to shoot down the missile, which was launched early in the morning local time, triggering safety warnings.

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile from its capital Pyongyang that flew over Japan before plunging into the northern Pacific Ocean, in what appeared to be its longest-ever test.

The aggressive test-flight over the territory of a close US ally sent a clear message of defiance as Washington and Seoul conduct war games nearby.

Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff said the missile travelled around 1,677 miles and reached a maximum height of 341 miles as it flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

The launch, which seems to be the first to cross over Japan since 2009, will concern a region worried that each new missile test puts the North a step closer towards its goal of an arsenal of nuclear missiles that can reliably target the US.

South Korean officials could not immediately confirm if it was the North’s longest-ever missile test.

North Korean missile launches have been happening at an unusually fast pace this year, and some analysts believe the North could have viable long-range nuclear missiles before the end of President Donald Trump’s first term in early 2021.

The South Korean military said it is analysing the launch with the US and has strengthened its monitoring and preparation in case of further actions from North Korea.

Analysts speculate the North may have tested a new intermediate-range missile that Pyongyang recently threatened to fire towards the US territory of Guam, which hosts a major military base.

This missile landed nowhere near Guam, which is about 1,550 miles south of Tokyo, but the length of Tuesday’s launch may have been designed for the North to show it could follow through on its threat.

Seoul says the missile was launched from Sunan, which is where Pyongyang’s international airport is, opening the possibility that North Korea launched a road-mobile missile from an airport runway.

North Korea will no doubt be watching the world’s reaction to see if it can use Tuesday’s flight over Japan as a precedent for future launches.

Japanese officials said there was no damage to ships or anything else reported. Japan’s NHK TV said the missile separated into three parts.

“We will do our utmost to protect people’s lives,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters.

“This reckless act of launching a missile that flies over our country is an unprecedented, serious and important threat.”