North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday that landed in the sea, in the waters of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Japan’s Defense Ministry announced.
In a statement, the ministry said that Pyongyang “launched an ICBM-type ballistic missile from a position near the west coast of the Korean Peninsula at about 10:14 a.m. (01:14 in Lisbon).
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described the launch as “absolutely unacceptable”, confirming that the missile landed in waters within Japan’s EEZ, near the northern island of Hokkaido, without causing any damage to ships or aircraft.
The Japan Coast Guard asked ships passing through the area not to approach wreckage that may be floating in the sea.
“North Korea has repeatedly fired missiles at an unprecedented frequency this year and is significantly heightening tensions on the Korean peninsula.”Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff also said in a statement that an intercontinental ballistic missile was likely involved in the launch.
South Korea’s presidential office said it had called an emergency meeting to discuss the North Korean launch.
If confirmed, it would be North Korea’s first ICBM missile launch in a two-week period.
This Thursday, Kim Jong-un’s regime had already fired a ballistic missile, but not of an intercontinental nature, towards the Sea of Japan.
Independent experts said an ICBM, still under development, launched by Pyongyang on Nov. 3 failed to make the planned flight.
North Korea has two types of ICBMs – Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15 – and launch tests in 2017 showed they can reach parts of the United States.
On Thursday, Kim Jong-un’s regime fired a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan.
The launches coincide with the visit of Spanish government President Pedro Sánchez to neighboring South Korea and come after the regime in Pyongyang fired about 30 missiles in early November in response to joint air exercises between Seoul and Washington.
Source: DN
