North Korea launches longest-range missile test yet

Pedestrians in Tokyo walk under a large video screen showing images of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un

Video screen in Tokyo shows image of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un during news update following missile launch

(Image credit: Richard A. Brooks/AFP via Getty Images)

North Korea has triggered panic in Japan by firing a ballistic missile an estimated 4,600km (2,860 miles) in the first test launch over the enemy nation in five years.

North Korea rejects aid-for-denuclearisation offer from Seoul Are North Korea’s nuclear weapons a real threat to the West?

The intermediate-range rocket, launched earlier this morning, covered “the longest distance ever travelled by a North Korean missile, and reached a height of around 1000km – higher than the International Space Station”, the BBC reported. The test marks a “dramatic escalation” of tensions in the region, said the Japan Times, and “prompted Tokyo to issue a rare alert for residents to take cover”.

Japan’s Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters that the missile flew over the northeast prefecture of Aomori before landing in the Pacific Ocean around 3,200km from the mainland. North Korea’s “persistent and escalating launches” are threatening the “peace and security of the region and the globe, and are a serious challenge to the entire international community”, he warned.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

The hermit state is prohibited from testing ballistic and nuclear weapons by the UN, and flying missiles towards or over other countries without warning “also contravenes international norms”, said the BBC.

The launch was the fifth of its kind in just ten days and appears to be “a direct challenge to South Korea’s effort to strengthen its alliance” with the US and Japan, as the three nations conduct joint military drills, said The New York Times.

Following similar combined naval exercises in 2017, North Korea fired two missiles over Japan. Pyongyang followed with a nuclear test a week later, and “recent intelligence has suggested that North Korea is getting ready to test another nuclear weapon”, said the BBC.

As in 2017, this morning’s launch activated Japan’s J-Alert warning system, which issued alerts for people in Aomori, Hokkaido and Tokyo’s Izu islands to take shelter.

Explore More

Kate Samuelson is The Week's former newsletter editor. She was also a regular guest on award-winning podcast The Week Unwrapped. Kate's career as a journalist began on the MailOnline graduate training scheme, which involved stints as a reporter at the South West News Service's office in Cambridge and the Liverpool Echo. She moved from MailOnline to Time magazine's satellite office in London, where she covered current affairs and culture for both the print mag and website. Before joining The Week, Kate worked at ActionAid UK, where she led the planning and delivery of all content gathering trips, from Bangladesh to Brazil. She is passionate about women's rights and using her skills as a journalist to highlight underrepresented communities. Alongside her staff roles, Kate has written for various magazines and newspapers including Stylist, Metro.co.uk, The Guardian and the i news site. She is also the founder and editor of Cheapskate London, an award-winning weekly newsletter that curates the best free events with the aim of making the capital more accessible.