Japan: North Korea Likely Launched Ballistic Missile

By Staff, Agencies

Japan’s Coast Guard reported that a ballistic missile fired by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [DPRK] has already fallen, marking the latest in a series of provocative launches that have heightened security concerns across the region.

Based on information from the Japanese Defense Ministry, "A ballistic missile believed to have been earlier fired by North Korea has already fallen. Aircraft and vessels are requested to monitor the situation and, if fragments fall, not approach them and report them to the Japan Coast Guard."

The Coast Guard has urged aircraft and vessels in the region to remain alert, avoid approaching any possible debris, and promptly report any findings to authorities.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters that the missile landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone [EEZ] and confirmed there have been no reports of damage.

The launch marks yet another in a series of missile tests by Pyongyang, raising regional security concerns and drawing international scrutiny.

Earlier this week, DPRK fired several rounds of rocket artillery toward the waters off its western coast, fan action coinciding with the arrival of US War Secretary Pete Hegseth at the inter-Korean border.

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, around ten rounds were launched from multiple rocket launchers into the northern part of the Yellow Sea, roughly an hour before Hegseth visited the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom.

The DPRK’s exercise occurred as Washington and Seoul held high-level talks on defense cooperation and the continued stationing of US troops on the peninsula.