South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016 into the sea.
Advertisement
The main body of the missile landed in Japan’s economic exclusion zone, a Japanese defence official said, escalating regional tensions that were already high after a series of missile launches this year and the decision by the United States to place a sophisticated anti-missile system in South Korea.
North Korea successfully test-fired a mid-range ballistic missile into open water Wednesday, according to South Korea’s military – and it appears that a second projectile exploded upon being launched.
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.
Japan’s defence ministry said the missile landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the 200-nautical-mile offshore area where a nation has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting resources.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said one missile came down in Japan’s EEZ 250 km west of the Oga Peninsula in Akita Prefecture.
The report cited Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as describing North Korea’s move a “grave threat” to Japan and stating that Tokyo is “strongly protesting” it. North Korea called the system a provocation that it says is only aimed at bolstering USA military hegemony in the region.
“This provocation only serves to increase the global community’s resolve to counter (North Korea’s) prohibited activities, including through implementing existing U.N. Security Council sanctions”, said Navy Cmdr.
The ministry spokesman said that under that trilateral information-sharing agreement, information sharing with Japan would be possible.
Several other North Korean rockets have gone farther and even over Japan. The rural area 135 miles southeast of Seoul was chosen as the base fir the new anti-missile system, which includes a powerful radar to detect missiles as they launch.the farmers worry that the electro-magnetic waves could threaten their health and their crops.
South Korea’s military said Pyongyang’s “provocative” launch was meant to send a signal to neighbouring countries as well as the South. North Korea threatened a physical response to the deployment decision.
“The United States has crossed the red line in our showdown”, said Han Song Ryol, the ministry’s director-general of North Korea’s U.S. affairs department, in an interview with the Associated Press at the time.
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.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined that the missiles posed no threat to the US.
One missile traveled about 1,000 kilometers to the east before landing close to or in Japanese waters. The other flying about 600 miles into the sea off of Japan.
Advertisement
North Korean state media said Kim Jong Un, the country’s leader, personally “provided field guidance” for that drill.
