Tokyo accuses North Korea of ​​launching ballistic missile into the Sea of ​​Japan

The launch comes at a time when the leader of the Pyongyang regime, Kim Jong-un, has been particularly active in the military context

Tokyo authorities this Sunday denounced the launch, by North Korea, of at least one possible ballistic missile towards the Sea of ​​Japan, in Pyongyang’s first weapons test in 2026.

“North Korea has launched what could be a ballistic missile”, announced the Japanese Ministry of Defense, in a brief statement published on the official portal, adding that it will provide updates “as soon as they become available”.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s office reiterated the announcement on the X social network and shared a brief set of three instructions to follow in response to the launch.

The list requires “maximum effort in collecting and analyzing information and providing it to the public in a timely and appropriate manner” and recommends “ensuring the safety of aircraft, ships and other assets”.

Sanae Takaichi’s office also advises “taking all possible precautionary measures, including contingency planning”.

Moments later, the Japanese Ministry of Defense indicated, via social media, that “the possible ballistic missile previously launched by North Korea has already crashed.”

Something that was also confirmed, according to the Japanese press, by the Japan Coast Guard, which specified that the missile crashed approximately 10 minutes after launch.

The South Korean army had also announced the detection of a presumed launch of an unidentified ballistic missile by the North.

The launch comes at a time when the leader of the Pyongyang regime, Kim Jong-un, has been particularly active in the military context.

Two weeks ago, he visited a nuclear submarine construction site and watched the testing of a “new type” of anti-aircraft missile.

At the time, the official North Korean news agency KCNA reported that Kim watched the test of a “new type of long-range, high-altitude anti-aircraft missile” over the Sea of ​​Japan and that he was presented with the ongoing project on “new secret underwater weapons”.

In early November, the South Korean military announced that North Korea had launched another unidentified ballistic missile into the Sea of ​​Japan, a day after Pyongyang threatened to retaliate against sanctions imposed by the United States.

United Nations resolutions prohibit North Korea from launching or even testing ballistic missiles of any range.