The incident occurred in Hokkaido, where sirens were heard throughout the region and residents were advised to “evacuate immediately.” The situation became tense because it was the second time in less than a year that residents in northern Japan had been placed on alert due to a suspected North Korean missile attack.
While Japanese authorities later confirmed that the missile did not land near the island and cancelled the alert, the incident highlighted the region’s growing tensions. North Korea has launched 27 missiles so far this year. The projectile reportedly flew 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), which the South Korean military described as a “grave provocation.”
The missile is thought to have a medium or longer range, but no information about the weapon tested on Thursday has been made public. The missile landed in waters east of North Korea, according to Japanese coast guards, but they couldn’t confirm whether it flew over Japan’s exclusive economic zone. According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, schools in Hokkaido were delayed, and some train services were suspended.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s Foreign Minister, said Pyongyang’s repeated missile launches pose a “grave and imminent threat” to Japan’s security. Meanwhile, Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council, stated that the latest launch “needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilising the security situation in the region.”
This latest missile launch comes just days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un directed his military to adopt a “more practical and offensive” approach to war deterrence, according to the country’s state news agency, KCNA. North Korea has not been answering twice-daily phone calls from South Korea via a military hotline for the past week, which has concerned Seoul’s government. These daily check-ins are meant to prevent clashes along the border.
“Pyongyang’s provocations continue beyond its protest of US-South Korean defence exercises,” said Prof. Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul, “because Kim Jong-un hasn’t finished demonstrating his nuclear delivery capabilities yet.” The lack of hotlines and diplomacy, however, raises the risk of unintended escalation.”
