North Korea launches a ballistic missile that would have flown over Japanese territory

The Japanese Ministry of Defense has reported that North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Tuesday that would have fallen into the Pacific Ocean, flying over part of the territory of the Japanese country, a fact that had not happened since 2017, five years ago.

The secretary of the Japanese Cabinet, Hirokazu Matsuno, has revealed that North Korea would have launched the missile around 7:22 local time (00:22 Spanish peninsular time). Then, it would have passed through the Tohoku region – in the north of the main island of Japan – and would have landed outside the country's Exclusive Economic Zone, reports Japanese television NHK.

The Japanese government has issued a warning about the launch of the North Korean missile to the population of the prefectures of Hokkaido and Aomori, in the north of the country, urging residents in the affected regions to take cover immediately to be safe.

Subsequently, the Executive has announced that the missile would have passed over the country until it fell into the Pacific Ocean around 07:44 local time.

The authorities have specified that it would have flown 4,500 kilometers in about 20 minutes. "There is a possibility that she fell in the sea area more than 3,000 kilometers east of the Japanese archipelago," Matsuno said.

Japanese government officials have announced that they will hold a ministerial meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the measures they will take in response to Pyongyang.

"Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida ordered us to cooperate with relevant countries such as the United States and South Korea and take necessary measures in a timely and appropriate manner," Matsuno said.

"North Korea's series of actions threatens the peace and security of Japan, the region and the international community, and poses a serious challenge to the entire international community," the spokesman said, before denouncing the "violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions by Kim Yong Un.

Furthermore, Kishida has described Pyongyang's behavior as "violence", expressing his "strong condemnation". He has also ordered the investigation of the launch, the first in five years, since 2017, which crosses the Japanese archipelago.

"Recent ballistic missile launches have been repeated. It is a scandalous act that follows, and I strongly condemn it. In response to this situation, I have just issued instructions to check the damage caused by falling objects, collect and analyze information thoroughly and cooperate with related countries," he declared.

The South Korean Army has also reported the launch of a ballistic missile by its northern neighbor from Mupyong-ri --in Jagang province--.

The South Korean General Staff is analyzing parameters such as range, altitude and speed, "and maintain a preparedness posture while strengthening surveillance," reports the Yonhap agency.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has warned that he will take measures to respond "decisively" to the firing of a North Korean ballistic missile.