INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Alarms blared from cellphones, radios and public speakers and fishermen hurried back to shore in northern Japan on Thursday after North
Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile above its eastern waters, adding to a recent barrage of provocative weapons demonstrations
that officials say may culminate with a nuclear test in coming weeks.The ICBM test, which was followed by two short-range ballistic launches
in a series of North Korean weapons tests in recent months that have raised tensions in the region
said it detected the North firing an ICBM from an area near its capital Pyongyang around 7:40 a.m
and then firing two short-range missiles an hour later from the nearby city of Kacheon that flew toward its eastern waters.The longer-range
missile appeared to be fired on a high angle, possibly to avoid entering the territory of neighbors, reaching a maximum altitude of 1,920
might have failed with the missile exploding in midair, saying that the test was still being analyzed.Citing anonymous military sources,
Japanese government initially feared the ICBM would fly over its northern territory but later adjusted its assessment
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the alerts were based on a trajectory analysis that indicated a flyover.The office of
residents in the northern prefectures of Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata, instructing them to go inside firm buildings or underground.There
have been no reports of damage or injuries from the regions where the alerts were issued
Bullet train services in some areas were temporarily suspended following the missile alert before resuming shortly.North Korean missile
activity is a particular concern in Niigata, which is home to seven reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant
northern coast, fishermen rushed back from sea at the sound of sirens blaring from community speaker systems
The office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his national security director Kim Sung-han discussed the launches during an
people.Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the United States National Security Council, issued a statement saying the United States
violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the
South Korea and Japan.One of the more than 20 missiles North Korea shot on Wednesday flew in the direction of a populated South Korean
South Korea quickly responded by launching its own missiles in the same border area.Those launches came hours after North Korea threatened
Korean-United States military drills that it views as a rehearsal for a potential invasion.North Korea has been ramping up its weapons
demonstrations to a record pace this year
It has fired dozens of missiles, including its first demonstration of intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017, as it exploits the
States and its Asian allies.The North has punctuated its tests with an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes preemptive nuclear
attacks over a variety of loosely defined crisis situations
United States and South Korean officials say North Korea may up the ante in the coming weeks with its first detonation of a nuclear test
device since September 2017.United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a telephone call with South Korean Foreign Minister Park
Price also addressed concerns about possible North Korean preparations for another nuclear test, which would be its seventh overall
Experts say such tests could possibly bring North Korea a step closer to its goal of building a full-fledged arsenal threatening regional
Japan in October in what it described as a test of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, which experts say potentially would be
capable of reaching Guam, a major United States military hub in the Pacific
That launch forced the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and pause train services.Experts say North Korea is escalating a
brinkmanship aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and negotiating economic and security
concessions from a position of strength.Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since early 2019 over disagreements
Associated Press-Agencies
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://adaderana.lk
