N. Korea missile flies over Japan

It’s first such flight since Kim took power; Tokyo protests

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired a ballistic missile early today that soared over Japan, the South Korean military said.

It was the second time in four days that the North Korean authorities, defying an escalation in international sanctions and warnings from President Donald Trump, had launched at least one missile. Three short-range missiles were launched Saturday.

The missile fired today took off from near Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and flew to the east, according to the South Korean military. It flew 1,677 miles while reaching a height of 341 miles before landing in the sea, the military said. It appeared to be the North’s longest-ever missile test, but South Korean officials couldn’t immediately confirm.

South Korea said the missile was launched from Sunan, which is where Pyongyang’s international airport is, opening the possibility that North Korea launched a road-mobile missile from an airport runway.

The Japanese government sent a text alert to citizens about the launch and advised them to take protective cover. A short time later, Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary, called the launch “an unprecedented, serious and grave threat to our nation.”

The missile flew over Hokkaido Island in northern Japan, South Korean and Japanese officials said. It was the first time a North Korean projectile had crossed over Japan since North Korea launched rockets over Japan in 1998, and again in 2009. The North claimed that both rockets were carrying a satellite payload.

In a statement posted on the Twitter account of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, the government confirmed that the missile was fired at 5:58 a.m. local time, before breaking into three pieces and landing about 730 miles off the coast of Cape Erimo of Hokkaido about 6:12 a.m.

In a statement, Abe said his government “was prepared to take all the measures to protect people’s lives.”

“We have lodged a firm protest to North Korea. We have requested an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council,” he added. “Under the strong Japan-U.S. alliance, we will take all the measures to confirm people’s safety.”

In Washington, the Pentagon said that “we can confirm that the missile launched by North Korea flew over Japan. We are still in the process of assessing this launch. North American Aerospace Defense Command determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America.”

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry warned that the North will face a “strong response” from the U.S.-South Korean alliance if what it called nuclear and missile provocations continue. The ministry also urged North Korea to accept talks over its nuclear program and acknowledge that abandoning its nuclear ambitions is the only way to guarantee its security and economic development.

North Korean missile launches have been happening at an unusually fast pace this year, and some analysts believe that the North could have viable long-range nuclear missiles before the end of Trump’s first term in early 2021.

Earlier this month, North Korea had threatened to launch four of its Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missiles in a “historic enveloping fire” around Guam, home to major U.S. Air Force and Navy bases. The North at the time said the missiles would fly over southern Japanese provinces on their way toward Guam.

That threat, together with Trump’s warning that the United States would bring down “fire and fury” if the North didn’t stand down, has significantly raised tensions in the region.

The anxiety had appeared to ease somewhat after the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, later said he would wait, watching the U.S. behavior, before deciding whether to approve his military’s plan to launch missiles toward Guam.

North Korea has conducted more than 80 missile tests since Kim came to power in late 2011 after the death of his father, but it has never sent any of those missiles over Japan.

Even when it flight-tested an intercontinental ballistic missile on July 28, it was launched at a highly lofted angle so that the missile reached an altitude of 2,300 miles but only flew 998 horizontal miles, falling in waters between the North and Japan. The North said at the time that it did so in order not to send its missile over a neighbor.

Last week, U.S. and South Korean forces began twice-yearly war games aimed at preparing for a possible attack by the North. The games continue until the end of August. North Korea has long called the exercise a provocation and a rehearsal for an invasion. The North has previously responded with missile or other weapons tests.