North Korea fired a missile that may have landed off the coast of Japan 4 Hours Ago | 00:46
North Korea test fired a missile that may have landed within 230 miles of Japan's coast, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
The missile was fired shortly before midnight Japan time on Friday, Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, said, citing government officials. Abe is convening an emergency meeting of officials, Reuters reported.
"We detected a launch of a ballistic missile from North Korea," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Logan told CNBC in an email statement. "We are assessing and will have more information soon."
Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said the North Korean missile flew for about 45 minutes before landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone, which stretches some 200 nautical miles from its coast. Suga reported that there were no immediate reports of damage from the missile.
A South Korean military official told NBC News that North Korea fired "one unidentified projectile" into the East Sea, which is a portion of the Sea of Japan. The military official said the incident was immediately reported to South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Top U.S. and South Korean military officials met to discuss military options after the launch, a spokesman for a top U.S. general told Reuters. Marine General Joseph Dunford and U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris called South Korean Joint Chief of Staff General Lee Sun-jin to discuss the commitment of the alliance and military response options.
The missile was fired from Jagang province in northern North Korea, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. The agency also said the South Korean president arranged an urgent meeting of his national security team.
jwfowler2 on July 28th, 2017 at 17:10 UTC »
I think it's cool that they have writing on the side of the missile. You know, just in case we weren't sure which insane country was responsible.
jstrydor on July 28th, 2017 at 15:44 UTC »
Didn't we say something to the effect of, "If they fire another missile we'll attack", or am I remembering it wrong?
Clarinetaphoner on July 28th, 2017 at 15:21 UTC »
Reuters says this one landed in Japan's EEZ as well
https://twitter.com/ReutersWorld/status/890954246501412864
Edit 1: Flight may have been over 3000 km. Time and distance consistent w/ July 4 ICBM: https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/890971149529645057
Edit 2: Abe says "There is no avoiding increasing pressure on North Korea" from NHK
Edit 3: Japan chief cabinet sec: Japan in contact with US, South Korea on N. Korea military moves
http://www.reuters.com/article/northkorea-missiles-japan-idUSL3N1KJ4XE
Edit 4: Pentagon declassified e-mail (I am a reporter) says it was an ICBM - traveled 1000km
Edit 5: Now reported as ICBM http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korean-ballistic-missile-launch-detected-pentagon-n787451
Edit 6: South Korea President Moon seeks U.N. Security Council meeting to consider stronger North Korea sanctions https://twitter.com/ReutersWorld/status/891000384797511681
Edit 7: (Expert) North Korean ICBM Appears Able to Reach Major US Cities http://allthingsnuclear.org/dwright/new-north-korean-icbm (thanks /u/stargazerAMDG)
Edit 8: U.S. and South Korea defense officials discussed 'military response options' after North Korea ICBM test https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/891006872391647233
Edit 9: John Hopkins' SAIS detailed analysis of launch: http://www.38north.org/2017/07/melleman072817/
Edit 10: S. Korea, U.S. stage joint ballistic missile exercise in response to N. Korea's ICBM launch. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2017/07/29/0200000000AEN20170729001500315.html