North Korea added its barrage of recent weapons tests today, firing at least three missiles including a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile that forced the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and temporarily halt trains.
Shortly after the South Korean military said it had seen the North launch a missile it believed to be an ICBM from a region close to Pyongyang, the Prime Minister’s Office of Japan made its announcement.
40 a.m. (local time), and then launched two short-range missiles at its eastern waters an hour later.
The longer-range missile may have been fired at a high angle to avoid hitting the land of the North’s neighbours, however South Korean officials did not immediately provide more exact flight information. One of the North Korean missiles, according to Japan’s Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada, travelled around 750 kilometres and reached a maximum altitude of 2000 km.
Initially worried that the alleged ICBM would pass over its northern region, the Japanese government later changed its mind.
Residents of the northern prefectures of Miyagi, Yamagata, and Niigata received warnings from Japanese authorities telling them to seek shelter inside solid structures or below ground. No damage or casualties have been reported in the regions where the alerts were issued.
The launches took place the day after North Korea launched more than 20 missiles, which was a record for the country.
One of the missiles went toward a populous South Korean island and touched down close to the sensitive sea boundary between the opposing nations, setting off air raid sirens and causing Ulleung island residents to flee. South Korea launched their own missiles in the same border region as a prompt response.
Hours prior to yesterday’s launches, North Korea had warned to deploy nuclear weapons to make the US and South Korea “pay the most horrific price in history” in retaliation for ongoing military exercises between the two countries, which it perceives as a practise for an impending invasion.
In October, North Korea last fired a missile over Japan in what it claimed was a test of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile that, according to experts, may be able to reach Guam, a significant US military base in the Pacific. The launch compelled the Japanese authorities to stop trains and issue evacuation alerts.
This year, North Korea has increased the frequency of its weapons displays to a record level.
It has launched a number of missiles, including its first test of intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017, as it takes advantage of the distraction provided by Russia’s conflict in Ukraine to advance the development of its arsenal.
The North has punctuated its tests with an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorises preemptive nuclear attacks over a variety of loosely defined crisis situations.
North Korea may step up the ante in the coming weeks with its first nuclear test device explosion since September 2017, according to US and South Korean officials.
Experts say North Korea is escalating a brinkmanship aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and negotiating economic and security concessions from a position of strength..
North Korea continues its bombardment of missiles with a potential ICBM.
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