North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Thursday, according to South Korea’s military, triggering a scare in northern Japan.
The launch prompted Japan’s government-run emergency broadcasting system, J-Alert, to warn millions of residents on the northern island of Hokkaido to “evacuate immediately” and take immediate cover in a building or underground, saying the missile was expected to land around 8 a.m.
The Japanese government soon lifted the order, saying the warning system had erroneously predicted that the missile would fall near the island.
“The Japanese government is warning that North Korea appears to have launched at least one ballistic missile. The government is urging everyone in Hokkaido to seek shelter,” the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo announced on Twitter, before issuing a separate statement later: “Authorities report that it has been confirmed that the possibility of the missile falling in Hokkaido and its vicinity has been eliminated.”
Japan’s coast guard said the missile fell in the sea, east of North Korea. Yasukazu Hamada, Japan’s defense minister, told reporters the missile didn’t fall within Japan’s territory or exclusive economic zone.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the North Korean missile was fired at 7:23 a.m. from near Pyongyang on Thursday. It added that South Korea’s military boosted its surveillance posture and maintains a firm readiness in close coordination with the United States.
The launch came after North Korea claimed it had tested a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone. According to its state news agency KCNA, the drone was tested on April 4–7 and cruised 1,000 km (621 miles) for about 71 hours and successfully hit a simulated target, and “perfectly proved the reliability of the underwater strategic weapon system and its fatal attack ability.”
North Korea has been criticizing a recent series of U.S.-led joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, saying they are proof of U.S. hostility against North Korea.
So far this year, North Korea has launched about 30 missiles it says are in response to the joint military drills.
U.S. and South Korean officials have denied any intention of invading the North, and the drills are defensive in nature and were arranged to respond to North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats.
But Pyongyang claims the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises were what compelled it to develop nuclear weapons and other defenses to deal with the military threats.
North Korea Unresponsive
Separately, South Korean officials say North Korea has not been responding to South Korean calls on a set of cross-border inter-Korean hotlines for about a week. Communications on those channels are meant to prevent accidental clashes along the rivals’ disputed western sea boundary.
On Tuesday, South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Youngse, Seoul’s point man on the North, expressed “strong regret” over North Korea’s “unilateral and irresponsible attitude” over the hotlines.
Kwon also warned of unspecified legal action over the North’s use of South Korean assets at a now-stalled inter-Korean factory park in North Korea.
Japan announced Tuesday it will hold trilateral defense talks with the United States and South Korea on Friday in Washington to discuss regional issues, including North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times