On April 13, the Japanese government issued an urgent warning to the residents of the Hokkaido region to take shelter following a suspected ballistic missile launch by North Korea. According to South Korea’s military, the missile was fired towards the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. The launch was confirmed by Tokyo, with the Prime Minister’s office tweeting that it ‘appears to be a ballistic missile.’
The government urged the residents of Hokkaido to evacuate immediately and seek shelter in a building or underground as the missile was expected to land around 8:00 am local time. The warning was based on a report by the AFP news agency. However, not long after, the Asahikawa City in Hokkaido tweeted that there was no longer any concern of danger, citing the national government’s emergency network.
Thursday’s incident occurred amidst North Korea’s efforts to strengthen its war deterrence in a ‘more practical and offensive’ manner, as stated by its Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, in response to what the country called the United States’ moves of aggression. Pyongyang has criticized the recent joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, calling them an escalation of tensions and has stepped up its weapons tests in recent months.
North Korea has also claimed to have conducted three tests of underwater drones, known as Haeil, which means tsunami in Korean, in less than three weeks so far.
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