Yasukazu Hamada, Japan’s defence minister, says North Korea
has launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which landed in the
country’s waters.
Hamada said the weapon, launched on Friday, reached an
altitude of 6,000km and could travel as far as 15,000km.
The test missile landed near Japanese waters, roughly 210km
west of Hokkaido, Japan’s second-largest island.
According to the defence minister, the missile has the
potential to launch strikes on all US mainland.
“Based on calculations taking the trajectory into account,
the ballistic missile this time around could have had a range capability of 15,000km,
depending on the weight of its warhead, and if that’s the case, it means the US
mainland was within its range,” the minister said.
Fumio Kishida, Japanese Prime Minister, who is attending the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Thailand, condemned North
Korea for firing the ballistic missile.
“We naturally lodged a strong protest against North Korea,
which has repeated its provocations with unprecedented frequency,” Kishida told
reporters in Thailand.
“We have told Pyongyang that we absolutely cannot tolerate
such actions,” the PM added.
The US has vowed to take “all necessary measures” to assure
the safety of its territory and its allies – South Korea and Japan.
Kamala Harris, the US vice president, met with the leaders
of Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in an emergency
meeting, where she described the missile launch as a “brazen violation.”
“We again call for North Korea to stop further unlawful,
destabilizing acts. On behalf of the United States, I reaffirm our ironclad
commitment to our Indo-Pacific alliances,” Harris said at the start of the
meeting. “Together the countries represented here will continue to urge North
Korea to commit to serious and sustained diplomacy, ” she said.
She’s also said to be looking to convene a meeting of world
leaders to discuss the launch.
The latest missile test by North Korea comes just a day
after Choe Son Hui, the country’s foreign affairs minister, warned of a
“fiercer” response to an increased US military presence in the region.
The missile launch was a reaction to the meeting between US
president Joe Biden and the leaders of South Korea, Japan and Cambodia where
all countries present agreed on more military cooperation.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com