TOKYO: Japan issued an evacuation order for people in a northern town soon after North Korea launched.
Sirens blared across Hokkaido, and the residents were told to “evacuate immediately” on Thursday morning. Authorities said the missile didn’t land near the island and withdrew the alert. According to the BBC, the evacuation order was dramatically retracted within 30 minutes.
Tensions have been growing in the region as North Korea has fired 27 missiles this year. The North Korean’s latest missile is believed to be of medium or long range, but details on its tested weapon have not been made public.
South Korea, Japan and the United States condemned the latest test.
Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, said earlier that his government would request a meeting of the UN National Security Council on the launch.
Japanese coast guards said that the missile had splashed into waters to the east of North Korea. Yasukazu Hamada, Japan’s Defence Minister, said he couldn’t confirm whether the missile flew over Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
According to North Korea’s state news agency KCNA, “the new launch came days after leader Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea, ordered his military to adopt the more practical and offensive manner in war deterrence.”
For the previous week, North Korea has yet to answer twice-daily phone calls from South Korea, which concerned the Seoul government.
The two Koreas typically exchange calls at 09:00 and 15:00 local time via the military hotline – these daily check-ins are intended to prevent clashes along the countries’ borders.
Earlier this week, South Korea’s Unification Minister Kwon Young-se described the North’s suspension of communication as “unilateral and irresponsible”.
“Pyongyang’s provocations continue past its protest of United States-South Korea defence exercises because Kim Jong-un has not finished demonstrating his nuclear weapon delivery capabilities yet,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul,
