But Pyongyang called them satellite launches while Washington, Seoul and Tokyo said they were disguised tests of missile technology.
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And indicating just how serious this latest threat is being taken by the global community, the US and Japan called an emergency meeting with the United Nations Security Council for Wednesday afternoon.
“Anything more provocative North Korea does is good news for the United States bad news for China”. It was also one of the rare launches aimed towards Japan.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe strongly condemned the attack, describing it as a “grave threat” and “an outrageous act that can not be tolerated”.
Tensions on the divided Korean peninsula are also building up ahead of an annual South Korea-US military exercise later this month that involves tens of thousands of troops.
It’s likely that North Korea uses dummy warheads when it test-launches missiles.
Sources well-versed in Japan-U.S. security issues said that since the THAAD battery is from the outset a U.S. installation, South Korea could not be involved in the provision of information to Japan.
A study published by the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in the U.S. concluded that North Korea has between six and eight nuclear warheads. However, the latest missile flew as far as 1,000 kilometers. However, when launching medium- and short-range ballistic missiles, North Korea has never given advance notice, including this time.
Kim Jong Un has vowed to continue developing nuclear weapons. Since its fourth nuclear test, North Korea has claimed a series of technical breakthroughs for its weapons programme.
A Japanese defense official noted that the missile was found in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
North Korea previously fired three ballistic missiles on July 19, including two mid-range Rodong missiles and a shorter-range Scud missile.
The missile fired from the North’s western Hwanghae province flew toward the water off the country’s east coast, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
It was one of the longest flights by a North Korean missile, and the first time a missile landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from shore.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) aims to combat the North’s growing missile capacity and its threats.
Peter Wilson, British deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said that North Korea firing a missile into Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone was “something the (Security) Council should take extremely seriously”.
The Czech Foreign Ministry is concerned about the continued ballistic missile tests repeatedly executed by North Korea and it should stop them as these activities violate United Nations resolutions, the ministry said in a press release yesterday.
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The U.S. Strategic Command said initial indications were that a second missile exploded immediately after launch. It was the closest a North Korean missile had come to Japan since 1998.
