In February, Japan’s defense minister indicated that the Japanese military would intercept any North Korean missile that threatened the country. North Korea’s tests make news because it is openly developing nuclear weapons and wants to place them on missiles capable of reaching faraway targets such as the mainland United States.
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Pyongyang might also be targeting Japan to irritate its eastern neighbour, as Tokyo has been a harsh critic of North Korea.
Tokyo said the missile had landed inside the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
The launch was “an unforgivable act of aggression that represents a grave threat to the security of Japan”, said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Earlier this year, North Korea suffered a series of failures before sending a new intermediate-range Musudan missile more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) high.
“The United States continues to believe that our response to North Korea’s destabilizing activities is stronger when the global community remains united”, Earnest said.
After all, North Korea had pledged a “physical response” when America announced it would deploy its THAAD nuclear shield in neighbouring South Korea.
Japan, along with the USA, is a known ally of South Korea.
The Patriot upgrade, to be conducted by MHI, would likely be an enhancement to Japan’s ballistic missile defense. He also said the launch by North Korea showed that their threats can become reality quickly. Additionally, Pyongyang reacted sharply to the United States’ decision to list Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, under new sanctions.
Resolution 2270 was unanimously adopted following North korea’s fourth underground nuclear test in January and a subsequent satellite launch in February, both prohibited actions under United Nations resolutions.
The missile appeared to be a Rodong-type medium-range missile that flew about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), it said.
The DPRK missile reportedly landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), marking the first time that a DPRK missile fell on Japanese waters.
Pyongyang and Beijing oppose the Thaad deployment, which Seoul insists is necessary to protect its people against the growing missile threats from the North.
The ministry in a statement condemned what it called an “open violation of the UN Security Council resolution and a serious threat to [South Korea], neighboring countries and the worldwide community”. The command’s statement said initial indications reveal one of the missiles exploded immediately after launch, while the second was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan. The three-stage Unha-3 rocket which North Korea used to send a satellite into space in 2012 was 30 meters (98 feet) long. The government harshly protested to North Korea through diplomatic channels.
China, North Korea’s sole ally, and Russian Federation did not back the request.
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A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense.
