Seoul CNN –
North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile over Japan early Tuesday morning, regional officials said, an apparent escalation of Pyongyang’s regular missile tests that prompted an immediate reaction from Tokyo.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed the launch, saying the missile passed east over neighboring Japan after being launched from South Korea’s Mupyong-ri area. North in Jagang province around 7:23 local time.
“The military has strengthened its vigilance and surveillance and is maintaining a fully prepared posture while cooperating closely with the US,” South Korea’s joint chiefs added.
A tweet posted by Japan’s prime minister’s office urged residents to take shelter and “do not approach anything suspicious found and contact the police or fire department immediately.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida “strongly protested” the launch.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said North Korea appeared to have fired a ballistic missile in the direction of Hokkaido, the country’s northernmost main island.
The missile flew over its northeastern prefecture of Aomori and landed outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone at around 7:46 a.m. local time (6:46 p.m. ET), Matsuno said.
Matsuno added that he considered the launch a “threat to the public” and said the Japanese government would continue to analyze the situation and work closely with the international community.
By CNN’s count, Tuesday’s launch marks North Korea’s 23rd missile launch this year, including ballistic and cruise missiles.
However, releases in Japan are rarer; The last time North Korea fired a ballistic missile over territorial Japan was on September 15, 2017, when the projectile flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, setting off sirens across the island .
Tuesday’s launch could herald an escalation in provocations by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, experts told CNN.
“Pyongyang is still in the midst of a cycle of provocation and testing and is likely to wait until after the Chinese Communist Party Congress in mid-October to conduct an even more significant test,” said Leif- Eric Easley, Associate Professor of International Studies at Ewha Womans University. in seoul
“The Kim regime is developing weapons such as tactical nuclear warheads and submarine-launched ballistic missiles as part of a long-term strategy to overtake South Korea in an arms race and create tensions among US allies.”
Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute, said there could even be a nuclear test. “North Korea will continue to conduct missile tests until the current round of modernization is completed. I don’t think a nuclear explosion is far behind,” he told CNN.