North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Over Japan; S.Korea Military Raising Alert

North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan and landed in waters off the northern region of Hokkaido early on Tuesday, marking a sharp escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula according to Reuters. The missile test, which experts said was an intermediate-range Hwasong 12 missile, came as U.S. and South Korean forces conduct an annual military drill, against which North Korea strenuously objects.

South Korea’s military said the missile was launched from the Sunan region near Pyongyang at 5:57 a.m. local time and flew 2,700 km (1,680 miles), reaching an altitude of about 550 km (340 miles). Japanese's NHK broadcaster reported the missile broke into three pieces and fell into waters off Hokkaido. 

Source: CNN

“North Korea’s reckless action is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat to our nation,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. Abe said Japan was seeking an urgent meeting at the United Nations to strengthen measures against Pyongyang as the test was a clear violation of UN resolutions and the government had protested against the move in the strongest terms. 

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the latest North Korean missile fell into the sea 1,180 km (735 miles) east of the Cape of Erimo on Hokkaido. He said that the Japanese military did not attempt to shoot down the missile, which passed over Japanese territory around 6:07 a.m. local time (2107 GMT).

"We are still in the process of assessing this launch. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America," Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Rob Manning said in a statement.

The last time North Korea fired what it said was a rocket carrying a communications satellite into orbit over Japan in 2009, however the US and other nations at the time said the launch was a ballistic missile test.

Shortly after the launch, The Japanese government’s J-Alert system broke into radio and TV programming, warning citizens of the possible missile and urging them to take refuge in solid buildings or underground shelters. Bullet train services were temporarily halted and warnings went out over loudspeakers in towns in Hokkaido. 

Global markets reacted to the escalation in tensions, buying safe-haven assets such as gold, the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen, and selling stocks.

Credit to Zero Hedge