A North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile landed in Japan’s exclusive zone

North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday that landed in the sea in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Japanese defense ministry said.

In a statement, the ministry said Pyongyang “launched an ICBM-type ballistic missile,” which is short for intercontinental ballistic missile in English. The shot was fired “from a position near the west coast of the Korean Peninsula at approximately 10:14” (1:14 on mainland Portugal).

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described the launch as “completely unacceptable”. The missile landed inside Japan’s EEZNear the island of Hokkaido (north), without causing any damage to ships or aircraft.

The Japanese Coast Guard has asked ships passing through the area not to approach any wrecks floating in the sea.

“The North Korea continues to fire missiles A this year Unprecedented frequency is significantly increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula,” Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters.

Further South Korea’s joint military chiefs said in a statement that an intercontinental ballistic missile may have been launched.🇧🇷

South Korea’s presidential office said it had called an emergency security meeting to discuss the North Korean launch.

If confirmed, North Korea’s first ICBM would be launched within two weeks.

An ICBM launched by Pyongyang on November 3, still under development, failed to carry out its intended flight, independent experts said.

North Korea has two types of ICBMs, the Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15, and tests launched in 2017 demonstrated that they can reach parts of the United States.

Earlier on Thursday, Kim Jong-un’s regime launched a ballistic missile towards the Sea of ​​Japan.🇧🇷

The launches coincided with a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to neighboring South Korea and the Pyongyang regime launched around thirty missiles in early November in response to joint air exercises between Seoul and Washington.