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North Korea fired an “unspecified ballistic missile” Thursday, Seoul’s military said, prompting Japan to issue a warning to residents of the northern Hokkaido region telling them to take shelter
“North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile into East Sea,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. They did not give any further details.
Japan also confirmed the launch, telling residents of Hokkaido to “evacuate immediately” and seek shelter in a building or underground, warning the missile was expected to land around 8:00 am local time (2300 GMT).
Local government officials in Hokkaido later said there was “no possibility” of the missile hitting the island.
Pyongyang has opened the year with a flurry of weapons tests, including what its state media has claimed are nuclear-capable underwater drones and the launch of two intercontinental ballistic missiles.
North Korea has claimed to have conducted three tests of underwater drones — known as Haeil, which means tsunami in Korean — in less than three weeks so far.
Pyongyang has claimed the weapon is able to unleash a “radioactive tsunami”.
‘Escalating moves’
On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a meeting of the Central Military Commission to discuss ways to “cope with the escalating moves of the US imperialists and the south Korean puppet traitors to unleash a war of aggression,” Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim ordered that the country’s deterrence capabilities be strengthened with “increasing speed” and in a “more practical and offensive” manner.
North Korea last year declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power, effectively ending the possibility of denuclearisation talks.
Earlier this year, Kim ordered the military to intensify drills to prepare for a “real…
