According to South Korean military, North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Thursday, causing a fright in northern Japan.
The launch caused Japan's government-run emergency radio system, J-Alert, to advise millions of inhabitants on Hokkaido's northernmost island to "evacuate immediately" and seek immediate shelter in a building or underground, with the missile projected to land about 8 a.m. The Japanese authorities quickly reversed the order, claiming that the warning system had incorrectly anticipated that the missile would crash near the island.
“The Japanese government is warning that North Korea appears to have launched at least one ballistic missile. The government is urging everyone in Hokkaido to seek shelter,” the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo announced on Twitter, before issuing a separate statement later: “Authorities report that it has been confirmed that the possibility of the missile falling in Hokkaido and its vicinity has been eliminated.”
The missile landed in the waters east of North Korea, according to Japan's coast guard. Japan's defense minister, Yasukazu Hamada, told reporters that the missile did not enter Japan's territory or exclusive economic zone.
The North Korean missile was launched at 7:23 a.m., according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. Thursday, from near Pyongyang. It went on to say that South Korea's military has increased its monitoring posture and is keeping a solid readiness in close collaboration with the US.
North Korea claimed to have tested a nuclear-capable undersea attack drone prior to the launch. The drone was tested on April 4-7 and sailed 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) for approximately 71 hours before hitting a simulated target, according to its state news agency KCNA, and "perfectly proved the reliability of the underwater strategic weapon system and its fatal attack ability."
North Korea has criticized a recent round of US-led joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, claiming they demonstrate US hostility toward North Korea.
So far this year, North Korea has fired around 30 missiles in retaliation to the combined military exercises. Officials in the United States and South Korea have rejected any intention of invading the North, and the drills are defensive in nature, scheduled in response to North Korea's rising nuclear and missile threats.
However, Pyongyang argues that joint military drills between the United States and South Korea obliged it to build nuclear weapons and other defenses in response to military threats.
