The latest in a string of weapons tests that have heightened tensions in the area, according to Japan, saw North Korea launch missiles that soared over northern Japan today.
Shortly after the South Korean military reported that it had seen North Korea launch at least one ballistic missile toward its eastern sea, the Prime Minister’s Office of Japan made its announcement.
Although it could not immediately state how many missiles were fired, Japan said that more than one were.
It claimed that the missiles passed over its territory before splashing down in the Pacific.
Residents of the northern prefectures of Miyagi, Yamagata, and Niigata received warnings from the Prime Minister’s Office, 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.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t immediate confirm what type of missile it detected or how far the weapon flew.
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 landed close to the tense sea boundary between the warring nations, setting off air raid sirens and prompting Ulleung island’s population to flee. South Korea quickly responded by launching its own missiles in the same border area.
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.
The last time North Korea fired a missile over Japan was in October when it claimed to be testing 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.
North Korea has been ramping up its weapons demonstrations to a record pace this year.
It has fired dozens of missiles, including its first demonstration of intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017, as it exploits the distraction created by Russia’s war in Ukraine to push forward arms development.
With an escalating nuclear strategy that permits preemptive nuclear assaults over a variety of vaguely defined crisis conditions, the North has punctuated its testing.
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.
As North Korea conducts its missile testing, Japan provides refuge
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