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North Korean ICBM May Have Failed In Flight Over Japan, Residents Alerted For Shelter

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North Korea has continued launching missiles, triggering fear and provocation from neighboring countries. On Thursday, the nuclear armed North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles, while an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) failed. This prompted an alert for residents in parts of central and northern Japan to seek cover.

The Japanese government called its initial warning of a missile that had overflown Japan to be incorrect. 

The government had to retract its claim that the missile had flown over Japan, according to Yasukazu Hamada, the Japanese Minister of Defense, because it had lost track of it over the Sea of Japan. However, a statement by Retired Vice Admiral and former Japan Maritime Self Defense Force fleet commander Yoji Koda stated that the loss of radar tracking on the projectile pointed to a failed launch. He also said, “It means at some point in the flight path there was some problem for the missile and it actually came apart.” 

He added, “Although the warhead came down in the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, debris, which would have been traveling at high speed, may still have passed over Japan.”

North Korea’s failed ICBM launch

According to officials of South Korea and Japan, the missile may have been an ICBM, which are considered North Korea’s longest-range weapons, and can carry a nuclear warhead to any part of the planet.

South Korean officials believe the ICBM failed in flight, news agency Yonhap reported. However, no such failure was confirmed from the ministry of defense. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s defense may have launched a record number of missiles this year, however, South Korean and US officials claim that the country had many failed ICBM tests this year. The country also launched two short-range missiles.

Thursday’s launch was a consecutive one, as just a day before North Korea fired at least 23 missiles, the most in a single day, along with a one that landed off South Korea’s coast for the first time.

Japan triggers alert over false flight

After the latest launch, residents of Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata prefectures in Japan were cautioned to seek cover indoors, as per the J-Alert Emergency Broadcasting System.

Talking about the latest launch by North Korea, Hamada said, “We detected a launch that showed the potential to fly over Japan and therefore triggered the J Alert, but after checking the flight we confirmed that it had not passed over Japan.”

According to him, the first missile had a range of 750 kilometers and an altitude of almost 2,000 kilometers. A missile is launched high into orbit in this type of flight path, known as a “lofted trajectory,” in order to avoid passing over nearby nations.

Few minutes later in a statement to reporters, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in an outrage said, “North Korea’s repeated missile launches are an outrage and absolutely cannot be forgiven.”

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