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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Ryan Fahey

US fires two bombs as tensions reach boiling point over North Korea missiles

The US and Korea have launched two munition bombs in response to North Korea firing a missile over Japan.

Yesterday, North Korea fired a possible intercontinental ballistic missile off its east coast that flew over Japan for the first time since 2017.

Four US and Korean warplanes fired two joint direct attack munition (JDAM) bombs at virtual targets into the Yellow Sea, Seoul's military said today.

It added the "virtual" mission was designed to demonstrate their "capabilities to conduct a precision strike at the origin of the provocations".

Sunday's test - which has been branded North Korea's most provocative weapons display in five years - lead Japanese authorities to issue an urgent warning for people to evacuate buildings and take shelter.

The rocket fell into the Pacific Ocean having flown over Japan and may have been an intercontinental ballistic missile, said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol warned of a "resolute" response.

A TV graphic shows the missile's launch path (KIMIMASA MAYAMA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Officials in Tokyo and Seoul said the missile flew between 4,500 to 4,600 kilometres to a maximum altitude of about 1,000 km.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has condemned the actions calling it "barbaric". Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that the missile is likely to have flown over Japan and landed outside of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

A National Security Committee meeting is to be held by the Japanese government.

The test prompted East Japan Railway Co to suspend its train operations in the northern regions, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

Japan said it did not use any defence measures to destroy the missile, which was the first to fly over or past Japan from North Korea since 2017.

South Korean and UN soldiers stand guard in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating South and North Korea (Getty Images)

"North Korea's series of actions, including its repeated ballistic missile launches, threatens the peace and security of Japan, the region, and the international community, and poses a serious challenge to the entire international community, including Japan," Matsuno, said in a brief news conference.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the ballistic missile launch off their neighbour's east coast.

The Japanese government warned citizens to take cover after its coast guard reported a suspected missile launch by North Korea.

An emergency tweet by Ishikari City, Hokkaido, repeatedly ordered people to take cover.

Kim Jong Un delivers a speech on a program broadcast on a TV screen in Tokyo, Japan (KIMIMASA MAYAMA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

It read: "Civil Protection Information October 04, 07:27 announced missile launch.

"The missile is believed to have been launched from North Korea. Evacuate inside a building or underground. Missile launch. Missile launch. The missile is believed to have been launched from North Korea. Evacuate inside a building or underground."

Many of North Korea's ballistic missile tests are conducted on a "lofted trajectory," which sends them high into space but leads to an impact point not far from the launch site, avoiding over flights of its neighbours.

Firing over or past Japan allows North Korea's scientists to test missiles under more realistic conditions, said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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