North Korea fires missile over Japan in 'unprecedented threat'

The missile, launched early Tuesday in Korea, flew over the island of Hokkaido before crashing into the sea.The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting later in response.North Korea has carried out a flurry of missile tests recently in the midst of growing international discomfort.This is the first time he shoots what is believed to be a ballistic weapon over Japan. On the previous two occasions their rockets crossed Japan - in 1998 and 2009 - North Korea said they were for satellite launch vehicles, and therefore not guns.Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, of the BBC in Tokyo, says that this latest launch seems to be the first of a missile powerful enough to carry a nuclear warhead.The South Korean military said the missile was fired eastward just before 0600 local time (2100 GMT) from near the northern capital, Pyongyang, which is rare.Early analysis of the launch suggests the missile:

    It flew a distance of more than 2,700 kilometers (1,678 miles)
    It was likely to be a Hwasong-12, a recently developed mid-range weapon
    It reached a maximum altitude of about 550 km (342 miles), lower than most of North Korea's previous tests
    It fell in the North Pacific Ocean to 1,180 km of the Japanese coast after breaking in three piecesJapan made no effort to shoot down the missile, but issued a security warning telling the citizens of Hokkaido to take refuge in "a sturdy building or basement."US and Japanese forces have just completed a joint exercise in Hokkaido, while another annual exercise involving tens of thousands of South Korean and US personnel is still under way in South Korea.The North sees these regular military drills involving the United States as highly provocative, perceiving them as a test for an invasion.Abe said he had spoken to the US president and agreed to increase pressure on North Korea. Meanwhile, the Pentagon said the launch was not a threat to the United States itself, but the army was working to gather more information about it.North Korean missile tests have been worth it?What can the outside world do?Can the United States defend itself against North Korea?
In a statement, Mr. Trump said: "The world has received the most recent message from North Korea loudly and clearly: this regime has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations and for norms Minimum standards of acceptable international conduct."Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the isolation of the North Korean regime in the region and among all nations of the world.North Korea's ambassador to the UN, Han Tae-song, defended his country's actions and said they were a response to military exercises carried out by the United States and its allies in the region."Now that the United States has openly declared its hostile intent towards DPR Korea [North Korea] by lifting aggressive joint military exercises despite repeated warnings ... my country has every reason to respond with harsh countermeasures as an exercise of its rights To himself-deference, "he told the Geneva Conference on Disarmament.China warned that tensions on the Korean peninsula had reached a "turning point", but said that the US And South Korea were partly to blame. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying criticized the two countries for their repeated military exercises that push the North."After so many rounds and vicious cycles, do you feel that you are closer to the peaceful settlement of the matter?" He said, adding that pressure and sanctions would not solve the problem.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said North Korea "must respect United Nations resolutions."

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