North Korea fired a ballistic missile today, setting off a temporary alarm on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, before the Japanese government clarified that it missed its territory.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the rocket “did not hit Japanese soil.” Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, in turn, said that a “probable” intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) probably did not land in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Typically, North Korea launches test missiles at an angle such that they fly in an elliptical trajectory and do not fly over other countries. But North Korean missiles have repeatedly flown over Japanese territory.

Earlier, the South Korean General Staff said that North Korea “launched an unknown type of missile towards the East Sea,” as it is called on the Korean Peninsula, which in Tokyo is called the Sea of ​​Japan.

As a result of the launch, an urgent message was sent to the inhabitants of the island of Hokkaido in the northern part of the Japanese archipelago, who were ordered to seek shelter either inside buildings or underground. However, the Coast Guard and local authorities later reported that there was no danger.

The launch is recorded as two G7 ministerial meetings are scheduled in Japan in the coming days: environment ministers in Hokkaido (Saturday and Sunday) and foreign ministers in Karuizawa (Sunday and Monday).

The Japanese government emphasized that the warning sent to the people of Hokkaido was appropriate, and not a “mistake”, through government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno. According to Matsuno, the J-Alert warning system is designed to “inform citizens of the danger” and the government “makes the safety” of the Japanese a top priority.

In Washington, the White House issued a statement “strongly condemning” the “long-range ballistic missile” test. “The door to diplomacy is not closed, but Pyongyang must immediately stop its destabilizing activities,” said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the National Security Council under the President of the United States.

“radioactive tsunami”

In recent months, Pyongyang has continued its intense weapons testing amid escalating tensions with Seoul and Washington, which are stepping up military cooperation and conducting large-scale joint military exercises in the region. Both sides have been vociferously accusing the other of escalating the conflict since last year.

On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered that his country’s containment capability be strengthened “increasingly,” in a “more practical and aggressive” manner to counter the rise of “high schools of US imperialists and traitorous South Korean puppets.” ,” in preparation for launching a “war of aggression” against his country, according to North Korea’s official KCNA news agency.

Since March 23, Pyongyang has announced it will conduct three tests of a remotely operated uninhabited underwater vehicle capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and “causing a large-scale radioactive tsunami.”

Pyongyang also said it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on March 16.

Last year, North Korea declared that its status as a nuclear power was “irreversible”, dashing any hopes of resuming negotiations to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

And in March, Kim Jong-un ordered his military to step up exercises ahead of a “real war.” Washington and Seoul responded with joint military exercises involving American strategic bombers and stealth fighters.

Pyongyang is calling school rehearsals an invasion of its territory and on Tuesday called them “hysteria” in preparation for “total war” against it.

For its part, South Korea called North Korea “irresponsible,” accusing it of cutting off communications between the two states’ militaries last week.

The military of the two countries communicate twice a day over a dedicated telephone line, but North Korea has stopped responding since April 7, according to the South Korean Ministry of Unification.

South Korea and the United States have been warning since last year that North Korea is preparing to conduct another nuclear test soon, the first since 2017.

Source: APE-MPE, DPA, Reuters.