Japan issues evacuation warning from Okinawa after suspected North Korean missile ‘enters Pacific border’ – Gudstory

“Missile launch. Missile launch. It appears that the missile was launched from North Korea. Please evacuate the space inside the building or underground,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office said via telephone.

The Japanese government later lifted an evacuation warning for residents of the southern region of Okinawa late Tuesday after a missile passed by North Korea.

“The missile passed. The missile passed. The missile is believed to have gone into the Pacific Ocean around 22:55 (1355 GMT). The call for evacuation is being canceled,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office said via telephone. “

North Korea made an apparent third attempt to put a military spy satellite into orbit on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said. The launch is the latest demonstration of North Korea’s determination to build a space-based surveillance system amid long tensions with the United States.

The launch came earlier than expected, as North Korea informed Japan on Tuesday that it would launch a satellite between Wednesday and December 1.

It was not immediately known whether the launch was successful. But there is sure to be strong condemnation from the United States and its allies as the United Nations bans North Korea from launching satellites, saying it is cover for tests of missile technology.

No further details were immediately available from Seoul, but Japan’s prime minister’s office initially issued a J-Alert missile warning for Okinawa late Tuesday, saying North Korea fired a possible missile. It urged residents to take shelter inside buildings or underground. Within 10 minutes, the office said on Twitter, formerly Twitter, that the missile had gone into the Pacific Ocean, adding that it was removing the earlier advisory.

However, the office urged residents to stay away from anything suspicious and report anything they see to the police or fire department.

A spy satellite is one of the key military assets desired by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who wants to modernize his weapons systems to deal with growing US threats. North Korea attempted to launch a spy satellite twice earlier this year, but both launches failed due to technical problems.

North Korea vowed that a third launch would take place sometime in October. But it did not follow that launch plan without giving any reason. South Korean officials have said the delay occurred because North Korea was receiving Russian technical assistance for its spy satellite launch program.

Milestone alert!Livemint tops charts as fastest growing news website in the world Click here to find out more.

Updated: Nov 21, 2023, 08:52 PM IST