Posted Oct 4, 2022, 6:17 AM
Shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the warning sirens of several cities in northern Japan were triggered to call on millions of inhabitants to urgently evacuate their homes and reach public shelters to protect themselves from the possible strike from a North Korean projectile or its debris.
Moments earlier, Japanese Defense Ministry intelligence spotted the launch of a ballistic missile from the North Korean province of Chagang, located near the Chinese border. The machine, which would have taken off according to the latest estimates at 7:22 a.m., would have flown for 22 minutes and traveled 4,600 kilometers, passing over the Sea of Japan, before flying over the Japanese prefecture of Aomori to finally crash. east of the country, in the Pacific Ocean. Its maximum altitude would have been 1,000 km, or “above” the international space station which operates at an altitude of 410 km.
Trains stopped
If North Korea has fired 23 missiles since the beginning of the year, which generally fall into the Sea of Japan after having made a “bell” shaped course, it is the first time since 2017 that it has dared to do so. fly one of its projectiles over Japan, in a maneuver that automatically triggers the “J-Alert” warning system in the archipelago.
Deployed, since 2007, in all the municipalities of the country to warn against natural disasters, it is also mobilized in the event of a military threat to call on the inhabitants to take shelter. This Tuesday morning, he also pushed several railway companies, operating in Aomori and Hokkaido prefectures, to suspend their operations for a few minutes.
“Provocation” and “barbaric act”
Shortly after the alert ended, the Japanese government strongly condemned the North Korean “provocation”. “North Korea’s series of actions, including the repeated firing of ballistic missiles, threatens the peace and security of Japan, the region and the international community, and poses a serious challenge to the entire international community.” , hammered, during a brief press conference, Hirokazu Matsuno, the spokesperson for the Japanese government.
Fumio Kishida, the Prime Minister, denounced a “barbaric act”. From Seoul, the South Korean president reminded him that this new firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile was a violation of the universal rules of the UN and deserved to be sanctioned by a firm response from the international community.
Soon after the shooting, US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan spoke separately with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts to craft an “appropriate and robust international” response. He reaffirmed the “ironclad commitment” of the United States to the defense of Japan and South Korea, according to his spokeswoman, Adrienne Watson.
Escalation
In recent weeks, the American, Japanese and South Korean governments have multiplied military maneuvers in the region in order to stage their ability to possibly counter a regional threat. The United States and South Korea are currently completing joint military exercises involving the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
However, these operations seem to have no effect on Pyongyang, which is increasing its missile fire as part of the effort to diversify its arsenal of weapons, imposed by dictator Kim Jong-un. According to the South Korean intelligence services, Pyongyang could soon dare, a new nuclear test. The country has not tested an atomic weapon since September 2017 and the start of a series of talks with Washington and Seoul, which have since bogged down.
