Japan orders evacuation in the north of the country due to the launch of a North Korean missile

MADRID, 13 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Government of Japan has ordered this Thursday the evacuation of residents on the island of Hokkaido, in the north of the archipelago, due to the launch of a North Korean ballistic missile.

The Japanese Coast Guard has reported, citing the Defense Ministry, that a ballistic missile from Pyongyang may have landed around 8:15 a.m. (local time).

As reported by a government official, the ballistic missile launched from North Korea appears to have landed outside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The authorities have later confirmed that there is no longer "the possibility of it falling in and around Hokkaido", correcting an initial warning.

The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, has ordered to devote maximum effort to analyze the situation and provide adequate information, as well as guarantee the safety of Japanese aircraft and vessels. "We will take all possible precautionary measures, including contingency preparation," reads a statement from his office.

The Japanese authorities, who have issued a warning about the launch of the missile to the population of Hokkaido prefecture, urging them to take refuge, have confirmed the temporary suspension of the transport of the bullet train and have asked the planes in space to be careful. aerial close to the island. They have also asked the population not to travel by road, as a precautionary measure.

This is the seventh time Tokyo has issued nationwide instant alerts, the last time being on October 4, 2022, when a ballistic missile passed over Aomori Prefecture and is believed to have landed in the Pacific Ocean, outside the Japanese EEZ, with a flight range of about 5,000 kilometers, the longest among North Korean ballistic missiles.