Japan has lodged a “stern protest” after North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile, marking the country’s 12th launch this year.
Officials in Japan and South Korea report that North Korea has fired a suspected long-range ballistic missile. The eastern coast of the country was the place of its launch. Tokyo lodged a ‘stern protest’ over the activity.
At approximately 01:00 GMT, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported detecting a presumed long-range ballistic missile launch from the Pyongyang area.
Japan’s coast guard and defense ministry detected the weapon. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stated that it flew for 74 minutes, reaching an altitude of 6,000 km (3,728 miles). It marked the longest-ever flight for a North Korean missile. The coast guard reported that it fell into the sea east of the Korean peninsula.
North Korea has increased its aggressive behavior. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, criticized the US plan to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula. She threatened to shoot down spy planes and claimed recent violations of their airspace by US reconnaissance planes.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, mentioned that these comments are part of North Korea’s pattern of exaggerating external threats to rally domestic support and justify weapons tests. He added that Pyongyang times its displays of force to disrupt diplomatic coordination against it. It comes at a time when South Korean and Japan’s leaders meeting during the NATO summit.
Matsuno described the launch as a “serious provocation” violating UN sanctions. In response, diplomatic channels lodged a “stern protest” in Japan.
Later on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to meet South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. Mastuno also mentioned that they are planning a summit involving Australia and New Zealand.
He stated during a press conference that they would respond in close cooperation with the international community.
