South Korea’s military says North Korea fired an unidentified projectile from its capital Pyongyang over Japan.
The Latest on North Korea’s firing of a projectile over Japan (all times local) :
7: 58 a.m.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that the Japanese government had been «completely» aware of and monitoring the North Korean missile launch Tuesday, noting that it had been prepared to protect people’s lives.
He said he will call for an urgent meeting in the U. N. to discuss further action, strongly demanding stepped up pressures against North Korea.
He said Japan will be prepared to «respond to all situations, » under the bilateral alliance with the U. S., to protect people’s safety.
Japanese officials said there was no damage to ships or anything else reported as the missile flew over Japan and plunged into the northern Pacific. Japan’s NHK TV said the missile separated into three parts.
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7: 40
A former South Korean military official who is now an analyst at Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies said that the early flight data suggests the North Korean missile that flew over Japan Tuesday was likely a Hwasong-12, a new intermediate range missile that the North has recently threatened to fire toward Guam.
The U. S. Defense Department says it is in the process of assessing the launch. Japanese officials said there was no damage to ships or anything else reported. Japan’s NHK TV said the missile separated into three parts.
Analyst Kim Dong-yub a said there was also a possibility the missile could have been a midrange Musudan, a missile with a potential 3,500-kilometer (2,180-mile) range that puts much of the Asia-Pacific region within reach, or a Pukguksong-2, a solid-fuel missile that can be fired faster and more secretly than weapons using liquid fuel.
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7: 16 a.m.
The U. S. Defense Department is confirming that a North Korean missile flew over Japan.
The South Korean military says a North Korean missile flew 2,700 kilometers (1678 miles) and reached a height of 550 kilometers (341 miles)
The Pentagon says it is still in the process of assessing the launch.
It says the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, determined the missile launch did not pose a threat to North America.
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7: 05 a.m.
South Korean officials say North Korea fired an unidentified projectile from its capital Pyongyang that flew over Japan, officials said, an especially aggressive test-flight that will rattle an already anxious region.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday said the South Korean and U. S. militaries were analyzing the launch and didn’t immediately confirm how far the projectile traveled. Japanese officials said the missile flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and landed in the Pacific Ocean. There was no damage to ships or anything else reported. Japan’s NHK TV said the missile separated into three parts.
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