North Korea sends missile soaring over Japan in escalation

North Korea on Tuesday fired a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years forcing Japan to issue evacuation notices and suspend trains during the flight of the nuclearcapable weapon that could reach the US territory of Guam and beyondThe launch was the most provocative weapons demonstration by North Korea this year as it ramps up missile tests in its push to build a fullfledged nuclear arsenal that viably threatens US allies and the American homeland and earns the country recognition as a nuclear stateThe United States said it strongly condemns North Koreas dangerous and reckless decision to launch what it described as a longrange ballistic missile over JapanThis action is destabilising and shows North Koreas blatant disregard for United Nations Security Council resolutions and international safety norms it saidSouth Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier said the missile had an intermediate range while Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada said it was believed to have an intermediate range or longer If Tuesdays launch involves a longrange missile that could be a test of a weapon targeting the US homeland some experts sayAlso Read Pakistan drone spotted in Punjabs Gurdaspur sectorJapanese authorities alerted residents in northeastern regions to evacuate to shelters in the first Jalert since 2017 when North Korea fired an intermediaterange Hwasong12 missile twice over Japan in a span of weeks during its previous torrid run of weapons testsTrains were suspended in the Hokkaido and Aomori regions until the government issued a subsequent notice that the North Korean missile appeared to have landed in the Pacific In Sapporo city the prefectural capital of Japans northernmost main island of Hokkaido subways were also temporarily suspended with stations packed with morning commutersJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters the latest firing is a reckless act and I strongly condemn itSouth Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired from the inland north in North Korea It warned the Norths repeated missile launches would only deepen its international isolation and prompt Seoul and Washington to bolster their deterrence capacitiesYoon said the Norths reckless nuclear provocations would meet the stern response of the South and the broader international communityAccording to South Korean and Japanese estimates the missile traveled about 45004600 kilometers 28002860 miles at a maximum altitude of 9701000 kilometers 600620 miles Hamada said the missile landed in the Pacific about 3200 kilometers 1990 miles off the northern Japanese coast and that there have been no reports of damage to Japanese aircraft and shipsBoth South Korea and Japan convened emergency national security council meetings to discuss the launch The US said national security adviser Jake Sullivan had consulted with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on their appropriate and robust responsesThe United States will continue its efforts to limit the DPRKs ability to advance its prohibited ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs including with allies and UN partners National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statementThe missiles flight distance shows the missile has enough range to hit the US Pacific territory of Guam home to US military bases that sent advanced warplanes to the Korean Peninsula in shows of force in past tensions with North Korea In 2017 North Korea threatened to make an enveloping fire near Guam with Hwasong12 missiles amid rising animosities with the thenTrump administrationNorth Korea last testfired a Hwasong12 missile in January At the time the North said the launch was meant to verify the overall accuracy of the weapon which it said was launched on a lofted angle to prevent it from flying over other countriesHamada said the missile on Tuesday could have been another Hwasong12Kim Dongyub a professor at Seouls University of North Korean Studies said North Korea could have tested the Hwasong12 again or even an intercontinental ballistic missile closer to what would be a normal ballistic trajectory but shorter than its full range If it was an ICBM the purpose of the launch would be to test whether the warhead could survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry Kim saidTuesdays launch is the fifth round of weapons tests by North Korea in the past 10 days in what was seen as an apparent response to military drills between South Korea and the United States and other training among the allies including Japan last weekThe missiles fired during the past four rounds of launches were shortrange and fell in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan Those missiles are capable of hitting targets in South KoreaNorth Korea has testfired about 40 missiles over about 20 different launch events this year as its leader Kim Jong Un vows to expand his nuclear arsenal and refuses to return to nuclear diplomacy with the United States Two of those tested were intercontinental ballistic missiles but they didnt fly over other countries because one was launched at a high angle and the other didnt fly its full rangeSome foreign experts say North Korea needs to master a few remaining technologies to acquire functioning nuclear missiles Each new test pushes them closer to being able to reach the US mainland and its allies with a host of nucleartipped missiles of varying rangeSome experts say Kim eventually will return to diplomacy and use his enlarged arsenal to pressure Washington to accept his country as a nuclear state a recognition that he thinks is necessary to win the lifting of international sanctions and other concessionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute 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