North Korea fired a long-range missile off its east coast on Wednesday, as leaders of South Korea and Japan meet on the borders of the NATO summit in Lithuania to discuss the rising threats including the nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea.
The launch comes after heated complaints from North Korea in recent days, accusing American spy planes of violating its airspace in its economic zones and condemning a recent visit to South Korea by an American nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine.
The missile flew for 74 minutes to reach an altitude of 6,000 km and range of 1,000 km, TV Asahi reported, citing a Japanese defence official, in what would be the longest ever flight time for a North Korean missile.
As per Japan’s Coast Guard, the missile appeared to be a ballistic one and have landed as of mid-morning. It has earlier predicted the projectile would fall outside Japan’s EEZ and around 550 km east of Korean peninsula.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is in Lithuania attending the NATO summit, has asked his staff to gather more information and be alert to prepare for any unpredicted events, according to the prime minister’s office.
The Japanese PM is set to meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said a summit was also planned with South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
Reacting to the launch, Matsuno stated that it has threatened the peace and stability in the region and that Japan has lodged a protest through diplomatic channels in Beijing.