North Korea launched a missile on Tuesday in Japan's vicinity. At approximately 8:00 a.m. (Japanese local time) the air-raid alarms went off in Aomori and Hokkaido, two prefectures in the north of the country, due to the sighting of a projectile coming from the border of North Korea and China, as reported on the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida's Twitter atraccount. "A projectile that appears to be a North Korean ballistsic missile has likely flown over Japan."
[Emergency alert]
A projectile that appears to be a North Korean ballistic missile has likely flown over Japan.- PM's Office of Japan (@JPN_PMO) October 3, 2022
The missile, which according to experts is model Hwasong-12, reached an altitude of 621 miles and traveled 2,858 miles, practically the same distance between New York and San Francisco. At the time of the sighting, Kishida condemned North Korea's "barbarism" and warned the people of the concerning prefectures to "seek shelter underground." After 22 minutes of flight, the projectile finally fell into the Sea of Japan in the Pacific Ocean.
This is not the first time that anti-aircraft alarms have gone off in Japan after Kim Jong-un's communist regime launched a missile. The last time this occured was in 2017, when the people of Hokkaido had to seek shelter and protection from a North Korean missile launch. A few days ago, North Korea conducted a short-range projectile test also over the Sea of Japan.
🇯🇵🇵 | Anti-aircraft sirens sound in Japan Tuesday morning following a North Korean missile launch. pic.twitter.com/KhhFvGpnR8
- Alerta News 24 (@AlertaNews24) October 3, 2022
Pyongyang's launch comes days after Kamala Harris's visit to the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas to strengthen relations between Seoul and Washington, D.C. This test poses a serious threat to the security and integrity not only of Japan, but also of the rest of the world, according to Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno:
North Korea's series of actions, including its repeated ballistic missile launches, threatens the peace and security of Japan, and poses a serious challenge to the entire international community.
International response
Japan's allies reacted to North Korea's missile launch. The United States condemned the "dangerous and reckless" North Korean test in Japan's vicinity, as indicated by US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson:
U.S. strongly condemns North Korea's dangerous and reckless decision to launch a long-range ballistic missile over Japan.
On the other hand, South Korea requested cooperation with the United States, Japan and other international partners in order to take strong measures against the North Korean Communist regime. "The latest provocation by North Korea clearly violated the universal principles and norms of the United Nations and a stern response and corresponding measures are ordered in cooperation with the United States and the international community," said the office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Five launches in the last ten days
In recent days, the North Korean communist regime intensified its missile firings going up to five launches in just ten days. So far this year, Kim Jong-un has multiplied his ballistic missile tests. A total of 23 launches have occured in 2022, which is 15 more than in all of 2021 and 19 more than in 2020.
From hypersonic weapons to intercontinental ballistic missiles (capable of reaching the United States) or short-range projectiles, the North Korean supreme leader has conducted all kinds of experiments with different weaponry, so much so that he could conduct nuclear tests at any time.
