Japan has protested to North Korea over the latest missile test, Japanese Deputy Defense Minister Toshiro Ino said at an emergency briefing.
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“At around 4:31 p.m. Japanese time, North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile. Based on a normal trajectory, its flight range was 300 kilometers with a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers. It fell outside the exclusive economic zone,” he stressed.
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According to Ino, the military does not exclude that the flight path of the North Korean missile could be variable.
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Ino also added that North Korea’s ongoing missile tests are completely unacceptable.
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“Our country made a strong protest to North Korea through diplomatic channels and severely condemned (the launches),” a spokesman for the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
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He added that to date, no information has been received on damage to aircraft or ships.
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Earlier, the Japanese coast guard announced a possible missile launch by the DPRK, ships at sea urged to be careful not to approach the object if it falls into the water.
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In connection with a possible missile test, a crisis headquarters was formed at the prime minister’s office to collect information.
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North Korea launched ballistic missiles 38 times this year, with a total of 67 missiles fired. In addition, Pyongyang tested cruise missiles three times, carried out artillery firing, air force exercises, testing systems for a space satellite, and rocket engines. On December 18, the DPRK tested systems for a military reconnaissance satellite on two medium-range ballistic missiles.
