North Korea fires ballistic missile over Japan: First J-alert in 5 years

This is the seventh time since 2017 that a missile has passed over Japan.

Pedestrians are walking past a huge screen displaying news reporting North Korea's launching a missile, featuring an image of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, in Tokyo, Japan, 04 October 2022. Source: EPA / KIMIMASA MAYAMA/EPA/AAP Image

Highlight

• North Korea launched a single ballistic missile at around 7:23 a.m. (Japan time) on October 4
• Government issued J-alert for the first time in 5 years
• No reports of injuries or damage

North Korea launched a single ballistic missile on October 4, around 7:23 a.m. Japan time.

According to the government's announcement, the missile passed over the Tohoku region and landed in the Pacific Ocean about 3,200 kilometers east of the region.

Defense Minister Hamada says the missile fired had a range of approximately 4,600 kilometers, making it the longest distance travelled by any North Korean missile fired over the country.

According to the Ministry of Defence, this is the 23rd missile launched by North Korea this year, and the seventh to pass over Japan since September 2017.

In the past week, between end of September to beginning of October, total of 4 missile has been launched towards Japan.

Japanese government believes the missile launched today is the same as the past four missiles, the intermediate-range ballistic missile, known as the Hwasong-12 (or Mars Type 12 in Japan).

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference that the recent repeated launch of ballistic missiles "is an outrage and we strongly condemn it" and that he would work to gather and analyse information.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno also issued a statement saying that the missiles were a "serious and imminent threat to Japan's security" and a "threat to the peace and security of the region and the international community".

He "strongly protested and condemned North Korea in the strongest possible terms.

An electric board at JR Sapporo Station in Sapporo, northern Japan, shows train schedule disruption after North Korea fired a ballistic missile which appears to have flown over Japan. Credit: Kyodo via AP Images/AAP Image

In Hokkaido and Aomori prefectures, where evacuation was called for by J-alert, transportation services including JR Hokkaido and Tohoku Shinkansen were temporarily suspended, resulting in cancellations and delays. However, there was no noticeable confusion.

There has been no reports of injuries or damage so far.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an emergency Japan-U.S.-South Korea telephone conference at around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, reaffirming the recognition that North Korea's intensified nuclear and missile activities "are a clear and serious challenge to the international community" and agreeing to continue close cooperation.

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