Report by Shuchi Giridhar
North Korea fired missiles over Japan on 4th October 2022. After travelling 4,500 kms, the missiles landed in the Pacific Ocean. North Korea has not fired missiles over Japan since 2017 and this was completely unexpected.
An alert was issued by the Government of Japan to take cover. It gave instructions to get inside buildings or underground and look out for falling debris.
Loudspeakers were programmed to give warnings.
Luckily, the missiles landed far away from Japan – in the Pacific Ocean – and there were no injuries.
Testing of ballistic and nuclear military weapons is strictly prohibited by the UN. North Korea has also violated international norms by firing missiles over Japan without any consultation or warning. The sudden firing of missiles with no warning was described as violent behaviour by Japan’s prime minister Fumiyo Kishida. Japan’s Defence Minister, Mr. Yasukazu Hamada, said that they would work on strengthening their defences and their counterattack.
In response to the missiles, South Korea, US, and Japan did military drills of their own.
American and South Korean aircrafts fired at a small island in the Yellow Sea.
These missiles were US-made ATACMS short-range ballistic missiles.
Drills were also carried out by Japan and US over the Sea of Japan.
Washington’s commitment to Japan’s defences was reiterated by America’s president, Mr. Joe Biden.
The leaders of both countries discussed the matter over phone. To coordinate an immediate response to the long-term threat posed by North Korea, the two countries decided that they will join hands with South Korea and the international community to respond immediately.
The United States requested the UN to confront North Korea on October 5th, but they had to deal with Russia and China.
Image: Representative image of India’s Prithvi missile