The Pentagon on Monday evening confirmed North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan’s airspace, adding that it did not pose a threat to North America, The Hill reports.
“We assess North Korea conducted a missile launch within the last 90 minutes. We are still in the process of assessing this launch. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America. We are working closely with Pacific Command, Strategic Command and NORAD and will provide an update as soon as possible.” The Pentagon statement said.
According to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the launch was an “unprecedented, serious and grave threat,” as he called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
Yonhap News Agency reported that South Korea’s military said Pyongyang fired the “unidentified projectile” about 5:57 a.m. local time Tuesday morning and that it landed in the sea.
Japanese news outlet NHK reported that the country’s government warned its citizens that the missile appeared to be headed toward Tohoku, in northern Japan, and advised people there to take cover. Japan didn’t attempt to shoot down the missile.
The latest launch comes after North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday.
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