North Korea launched one intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Pyongyang area on April 13 morning, prompting Japanese authorities to issue evacuation warnings to residents of the Northern island of Hokkaido.
The launch came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for strengthening war deterrence in a “more practical and offensive” manner to counter what North Korea called moves of aggression by the United States. North Korea has criticised recent joint military exercises between US and South Korean forces as escalating tensions, stepping up its weapons tests in recent months.
Japan’s Defence Ministry said North Korea launched an ICBM at a lofted angle at 7:22 am KST and initially warned it would land in the vicinity of Hokkaido around 8 am.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called a National Security Council meeting in response to the launch.
Japan’s Defence Minister, Yasukazu Hamada, said the missile appeared to have been fired eastward at a high angle, and it did not fall in Japanese territory.
Millions of people received a J-alert, or evacuation order, shortly before 8 am, urging them to seek shelter as the missile could land on or near the island. Japanese authorities retracted the alert for Hokkaido island when they determined that the missile would not fall nearby.
Japanese authorities later issued a “correction” to the evacuation order, saying the missile did not pose a danger to residents and that there was no indication it landed inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Tokyo later confirmed it had fallen outside Japanese territory, in waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.
Many residents were critical of the decision to send the alert. This created a lot of anxiety and confusion.
Tokyo said the missile landed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) just before 8:19 am, meaning it was in the air for just under an hour.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) agreed the missile was launched at “a vertical angle” from the Pyongyang area around 7:23 am and that it flew around 621 miles (1,000 km) before splashing down. Seoul called it an “intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile.”
The South Korean military believes Pyongyang was testing a new ballistic missile, which it had showcased in a military parade, according to a military official. That missile could be solid-fueled, a type of missile that can be launched more quickly and moved around more easily than the liquid-fueled long-range missiles North Korea has tested in the past.
The official added that there is a possibility that North Korea was testing a part of a reconnaissance satellite, such as a sensor.
Nuclear envoys of the US, South Korea and Japan “strongly condemned” the launch and called it a “provocation.”
Military officials from the three countries are also scheduled to discuss “DPRK nuclear and missile threats and concrete ways to enhance trilateral defence cooperation” at Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT) in Washington on April 14.
The White House National Security Council said in a statement that the launch “needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilising” regional security and that North Korea is neglecting “the well-being of its people” by focusing on missile development.
While condemning the latest in a string of North Korean missile tests, the United States renewed its offer to open talks. However, firmly said that North Korea must leave the path of destabilising activities and participate in diplomatic engagements.
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