The Japanese government confirmed that the unidentified ballistic missile launched this Thursday by Pyongyang into the Sea of ??Japan (called the East Sea in the two Koreas) fell outside its territory and outside the waters of its exclusive economic space (EEZ), after of the missile alert being activated on the northern island of Hokkaido.
“We believe that they have launched at least one missile with the possibility of being an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). We have confirmed that it has not landed on the territory of our country or in the EEZ area,” the Japanese Defense Minister said today. , Yasukazu Hamada, at a press conference.
Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, also said the missile had fallen out of his waters and called a security meeting with several of his ministers to investigate what happened.
The launch was confirmed by the South Korean Army, and led the authorities on the Japanese island of Hokkaido to temporarily activate the alert, asking the population to take refuge in buildings or underground places, given the possibility that the projectile would hit this area. territory or near it.
The Japanese authorities updated this alert around 8:20 am (11:20 pm on Wednesday) noting that there was no longer any possibility of the missile falling on the island of Hokkaido or in its vicinity.
The executive spokesman, Hirokazu Matsuno, defended the “proper” operation of the national anti-missile alert system J-Alert, when asked at a press conference about the different indications offered to the population through this platform in a short period of time. .
“A missile that could be aimed at Hokkaido was detected, and right after it disappeared from radar. Since the system generated such clues with limited detection data, the alert was issued from the perspective of prioritizing the safety of the public,” Matsuno explained.
Likewise, the company that operates the railway lines in that prefecture, JR Hokkaido, suspended all its operations shortly before 8 a.m. local time while the Japanese Ministry of Transportation alerted ships and planes circulating in the area about the possible impact of the missile.
The Japanese Coast Guard indicated in turn that it expected the impact in the waters around Hokkaido from 8:00 a.m. (23:00 GMT on Wednesday), and later, at 8:19 a.m., indicated that it would have already fallen into the sea at an undetermined point.
In the last month, Pyongyang has responded to the great spring maneuvers in Seoul and Washington -in which Tokyo has also occasionally participated- with various weapons tests, including those of a new nuclear-capable guided drone or torpedo.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
