Ballistic missile fired by the North into the sea between Japan and Korea

Korean city of SEOUL Early on Thursday, North Korea continued its provocative series of weapons tests by launching a ballistic missile at a high angle that landed between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Japan’s decision to order the evacuation of a northern island, which was later withdrawn, was spurred by the launch, demonstrating the neighbours of North Korea’s watchfulness over its evolving missile threats.

The missile fired from a location close to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, headed towards the waters off the country’s east coast, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea. The statement did not specify the missile’s range, only that it had a medium-to-long range.

North Korea may have launched an intercontinental ballistic missile at a high angle, according to Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada. The missile, according to Hamada, did not enter Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

The National Security Council will convene to examine the launch, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. Kishida responded that the government is reviewing alerts and associated material when questioned about the veracity of Japan’s information sharing of upcoming North Korean launches.

The waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan are frequently the target of North Korea’s missile tests. All of its previous ICBM launches have place in the region but were conducted on loft trajectories to avoid the surrounding nations.

Ordinarily, South Korea and Japan do not issue evacuation orders in response to North Korean launches until they are certain that weapons have flown towards their borders.

On Hokkaido, the northernmost island, the Japanese authorities encouraged residents to take shelter after Thursday’s launch. As a result, the government issued a correction and retracts its missile alert, claiming that its analysis ruled out the prospect of a missile landing close to Hokkaido.

Although the reason Japan gave the order for a missile that didn’t hit the island was unclear, the episode signalled that it was being watchful of North Korea’s developing missile threats.

When a North Korean intermediate-range missile sailed over Japan in a launch that showed it had the ability to reach the American Pacific territory of Guam last October, Japanese officials issued a comparable evacuation order. No injuries were reported before the weapon entered the Pacific, although Japanese authorities warned inhabitants in its northeastern districts to take cover and stopped trains at the time.

After promising to upgrade his nuclear weapons in more “practical and offensive” ways, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un launched a missile on Thursday.

About 100 missiles have been fired by North Korea this year and in 2022, many of them carrying nuclear warheads that may reach the U.S. mainland, South Korea, and Japan.