(CNN) —Japan urged residents to take shelter early Tuesday following North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile over the north of the country in an escalation of Pyongyang’s missile tests that prompted an immediate reaction from Tokyo.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed that the missile passed eastward over Japan following being launched from North Korea’s Mupyong-ri area in Jagang province around 5:00 p.m. 7:23 a.m. local time.
It is the first ballistic missile launched over Japan since 2017 and raises the tally to 2022, the most prolific year for ballistic missile tests since Kim Jong Un took power in North Korea in 2012, according to the Unification Ministry already monitoring. from CNN.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the launch.
“The recent and repeated launches of ballistic missiles are shocking and we strongly condemn them,” Kishida said during a news conference at his official residence.
Stock footage is seen on Japanese TV screens in reference to North Korea’s missile launch on October 4 (Credit: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that North Korea appeared to have fired a ballistic missile in the direction of Hokkaido, the country’s northernmost main island.
The missile flew over northeastern Aomori Prefecture and landed outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone at around 7:46 am local time (6:46 pm ET), Matsuno said.
Matsuno added that he viewed the launch as a “threat to the public” and said the Japanese government would continue to monitor the situation and work closely with the international community.
Pyongyang fired four missiles in the space of a week late last month and early this month, around the same time as the US vice president, Kamala Harrispaid an official visit to Japan and South Korea, and while the US, Japanese and South Korean navies held joint exercises.
However, releases over Japan are rare; The last time North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japanese territory was on September 15, 2017, when the projectile flew over the island of Hokkaido, in northern Japan.
Tuesday’s launch might herald an intensification of provocations by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, experts told CNN.
South Korea, US Hold Precision Bombing Exercise in Response to North Korean Missile
South Korea and the United States conducted a precision bombing exercise in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile launch over Japan on Tuesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced in a statement.
A South Korean F-15K fighter jet fired two Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs at a virtual target at a firing range west of the Korean peninsula, the JCS said. A JDAM is a precision-guided air-to-ground weapon that uses GPS to hit high-priority fixed and moving targets, according to the US Air Force.
This is not the first time the two allies have launched a JDAM in response to North Korean missile tests. In March, they similarly launched two JDAMs in response to North Korea’s launch of a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The JCS said four South Korean F-15K jets and four US Air Force F-16 jets took part in the drills on Tuesday, showing the “willingness of South Korea and the United States to respond.” harshly to any North Korean provocation” along with its ability to strike with “overwhelming” force.
Yoonjung Seo reported from Seoul and Emiko Jozuka from Tokyo. With reporting from CNN’s Gawon Bae in Seoul
