Yonhap quoted the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul as saying, “The (North Korean) projectile disappeared from radar screens before it reached its intended point of impact,” noting that the military is assessing the possibility that the missile “explodes in the air”. or broken.”
And South Korea’s military announced on Wednesday morning that North Korea had launched what it described as a “space missile”, in a step that briefly activated air attack warning systems. both in the capital, Seoul, and in the Japanese region of Okinawa.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said Pyongyang launched south “what it says is a space launch vehicle”.
For their part, authorities in the capital issued a warning to residents via a short text message they received on their mobile phones, stating: “Citizens, please prepare to evacuate and allow children and the elderly to evacuate first,” as sirens sounded in central Seoul.
But South Korea’s Interior Ministry was quick to say that “the warning issued by the Seoul city government at 6:41 a.m. was issued by mistake.”
In turn, Japan issued a warning to residents of the southern region of Okinawa.
“Rocket launch. Missile launch. It appears that North Korea has launched a missile. Please hide inside buildings or underground,” the prime minister’s office said in a warning on Twitter broadcast by public broadcaster NHK.
But the Japanese government rescinded that warning after 30 minutes, reassuring that all dangers had passed.
“The said missile is expected not to reach Japan. Evacuation call has been cancelled,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Twitter.
On Tuesday, North Korea confirmed plans to launch a satellite for military spy purposes “to counter dangerous military maneuvers by the United States and its supporters.”
Japanese officials said on Monday that Pyongyang had told them it would launch a satellite starting this week, warning they believed Kim Jong-un’s regime was actually planning to test a ballistic missile in defiance of international sanctions.
On Tuesday, the official KCNA news agency quoted Ri Pyong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling party’s Central Military Commission, as saying that the “No. 1 military reconnaissance satellite” will be “launched in June” with the aim of “to confront the dangerous military actions of the United States and its supporters.”
According to Tokyo, Pyongyang notified the Japanese Coast Guard that it would launch the missile between May 31 and June 11, and that waters near the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of the island of Luzon in the Philippines are therefore considered hazardous areas.
This warning usually means that debris from the missile or some of its layers may fall into these waters.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense has ordered the Air Force to destroy any ballistic missile that may land in Japanese waters.
The ministry said it would allow its forces to use “SM3” missiles and “Patriot PAK-3” missiles to shoot down medium-altitude missiles.
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