DPRK fires ballistic missile over Japan

CGTN photo

The DPRK on Tuesday launched a ballistic missile over Japan's territory, according to South Korea's military.

The missile, flying more than 2,700 kilometers in an easterly direction, was fired from a site in Sunan in Pyongyang at around 5:57 a.m. local time.

South Korea's military said the missile flew at a maximum altitude of around 550 kilometers and fell into the North Pacific Ocean.

Tokyo confirmed the launch as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described it as an "unprecedented, serious and grave threat."

"We will immediately collect and analyze details and the government will take full steps to protect Japanese people's lives," Abe said, saying to urge the UN to strengthen pressure on Pyongyang.

So far, there have been no reports of falling objects in its territory or damage to vessels around Hokkaido after the missile launch, according to Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

The United States Department of Defense also confirmed the missile flew over Japan.

"North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea [the DPRK] did not pose a threat to North America," Pentagon spokesman Rob Manning said in a statement.

This has been the second missile launch from Pyongyang within one week. On Saturday morning, the DPRK fired three short-range missiles from a site in Kittaeryong in the eastern province of Gangwon into the Sea of Japan but the first and third missiles failed in flight and the second blown up almost immediately.