North Korea fired has continued to show per-emptive capability for international war with neighbouring countries, including their ally, the United States (U.S.) as the country fired an intercontinental ballistic missile Friday which landed near the coast of Japan, expecting that the weapon could have the range to hit US mainland.
Japan Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, berating North Korea for the ICBM test, said that action is “absolutely unacceptable”, noting that the missile had dropped in the waters of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, had condemned the missile test, urging North “to immediately desist from taking any further provocative actions.”
South Korea’s military noted that the missile flew 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) at an altitude of 6,100 km, only slightly less than the ICBM North Korea fired on March 24, which appeared to be the country’s most powerful test ever.
The U.S. and Japan had held joint military drills in the airspace over the Sea of Japan on Friday.
A joint staff statement distributed by the Japanese defence ministry indicated that “Japan Self-Defense Forces and US armed forces conducted a bilateral exercise… amid an increasingly severe security environment surrounding Japan.
“This bilateral exercise reaffirms the strong will between Japan and the United States to respond to any situation.”
US Vice President Kamala Harris convened a meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Bangkok to discuss the launch with regional leaders.
“We strongly condemn these actions and we again call for North Korea to stop further unlawful, destabilising acts,” Harris said.