North Korea has fired a “suspected ballistic missile” that flew over Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on social media today.
The announcement of the Japanese ruler was made through a publication on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
【北朝鮮ミサイル】
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two…– 首相官邸(災害・危機管理情報) (@Kantei_Saigai) August 23, 2023
The launch came a day after Pyongyang warned it would launch a satellite and Tokyo urged North Korea to cancel the project, coinciding with joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea.
Also today, South Korea said Pyongyang had launched a long-range missile it called a “space vehicle launch.”
The statement from the South Korean armed forces did not go into further detail, but this is likely North Korea’s second attempt to place a spy satellite in space.
On Tuesday, North Korea notified Japan of its intention to launch a satellite in the coming days, after an earlier test failed three months ago.
On May 31, a missile presented by Pyongyang as launching a military observation satellite crashed into the Yellow Sea shortly after liftoff, with North Korean authorities citing a technical problem.
Pyongyang explained that it intended to “face the dangerous military actions of the United States and its vassals”.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made developing a military spy satellite a priority. Washington and Seoul in turn suspect that Pyongyang is developing a new intercontinental ballistic missile incorporating technology similar to that of a satellite launcher.
The launch announcement coincides with large-scale maneuvers between the United States and South Korea that began Monday and lasted through August 31.
Source: DN
