The Japanese Ministry of Defense has confirmed that North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan early on Tuesday morning.
According to ABC News, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that in response to the ballistic missile test, South Korea and the United States conducted a joint strike package flight and precision bombing drill.
To warn its citizens to seek shelter in fortified structures or underground, the Japanese government issued a “J-alert” through its emergency warning system.
According to a government spokesperson, Japan didn’t try to shoot the missile down because they didn’t believe it was a threat.
ABC News has confirmed that a U.S. defense official has confirmed the launch.
Northern Japanese citizens in Aomori and Hokkaido prefectures were urged to stay vigilant and report any suspicious objects to authorities.
The launch on Tuesday was the seventh time a North Korean missile has soared over Japan. August 2017 was the last time this happened. North Korea has fired 21 ballistic missiles and 2 cruise missiles so far this year.
Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters, “We ask that people return to life as usual, calmly.”
Officials also urged the public not to pick up any of the debris that had fallen.
The Japanese Prime Minister’s office, led by Fumio Kishida, has gathered experts to assess the situation.
A search is underway for debris, but a government spokesperson said no damage reports have been received. Information is being gathered, and the government will collaborate with South Korea and the United States.
According to the spokesperson, Japan, and the international community are in danger because of North Korea.
Such missile launches are a violation of United Nations resolutions. The Japanese government will respond to this with a strong protest against North Korea. All updates will be made as soon as possible.
The United States “strongly condemns” the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) “dangerous and reckless decision to launch a long-range ballistic missile over Japan,” the White House said late Monday local time in Washington, D.C.
According to White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had phone conversations with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts on Monday night local time.
Watson stated that during both phone calls, “The National Security Advisors consulted on appropriate and robust joint and international responses,” and that NSA Jake Sullivan “reinforced the United States’ ironclad commitments to the defense of Japan and the ROK [South Korea].”
According to experts, regional players may not have many options left for containing North Korea. Since this is one of many missile tests this year, Temple University Japan’s director of Asian studies Jeff Kingston told ABC News that the launch was extremely provocative.
Kingston has stated, “There are no good options for [South Korean President] Yoon, Kishida, Biden to rein in Kim Jong Un.” He is undeterred by sanctions and condemnation, and there is no viable military option.
With the recent passage of a law, North Korea has made clear that it is prepared to use nuclear weapons first in the event of an attack. A seventh nuclear test is being prepared for, and experts have warned that the country may try to reaffirm its status as a nuclear weapons state.
Professor of International Relations at South Korea’s Sogang University Jaechun Kim recommended that the United States, South Korea, and Japan seek cooperation from like-minded countries in non-UN sanctions to counter North Korea’s provocations.
Kim argued for the establishment of “A united front” to impose sanctions on North Korea in a similar vein to how they were applied to Russia. This, as one expert put it, “is the only way to punish North Korea for its bad behavior.”
North Korea’s strongest ally, China, may have little to no influence on North Korean policy, Kim told ABC News.
Nowadays, North Korea simply acts in accordance with its own self-interest. So, it’s quite likely that North Korea will conduct its seventh nuclear test, Kim said, with or without China’s support.
To what extent Xi Jinping will back this effort is an interesting question.
Kim Jong-un