By Oyintari Ben
Tuesday morning saw a vast and potentially dangerous escalation of recent weapons tests by the Kim Jong Un government, as Japan ordered citizens to seek cover after North Korea launched an unannounced ballistic missile over the nation for the first time in five years.
The launch, which sparked quick retaliation from Tokyo and Seoul, comes amid a wave of missile testing, with five launches in the previous ten days. It follows after renewed military exercises between the US and its regional allies.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the intermediate-range missile was fired at roughly 7:23 a.m. local time from Mupyong-RI, which is close to North Korea’s central border with China (JCS). Japanese authorities reported that the object fell into the Pacific Ocean at a distance of about 3,000 kilometres (1,864 miles) from the country’s shore after travelling nearly 4,600 kilometres (2,858 miles) over the Tohoku region of Japan’s main island of Honshu for 20 minutes at an estimated maximum altitude of 1,000 kilometres (621 miles).
In remarks to reporters at his official residence, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vehemently denounced the launch and branded North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches “outrageous.”
Tuesday’s launch marks the nation’s 23rd missile test this year, including ballistic and cruise missiles.
Japanese authorities claim that there have been no reports of aircraft or vessels being damaged near the missile’s trajectory. However, the unannounced missile did cause an unusual J-alert, which is a system used to notify the public of emergencies and dangers in Japan.
Alerts are broadcast during emergencies via sirens, local radio stations, and individual smartphone users. According to Japanese officials, alerts were sent out to residents of Aomori prefecture, Hokkaido, and Tokyo’s Izu and Ogasawara islands at roughly 7:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
The office of the Prime Minister of Japan issued a tweet advising citizens to seek cover in buildings, “not approach anything unusual that is found, and to promptly alert the police or fire department.”
