North Korea fires missile, prompting Japan to issue warning for Hokkaido

• A warning from Japan’s J-Alert system on Thursday morning following a North Korean missile launch | KYODO

• BY JESSE JOHNSON
• STAFF WRITER

• SHAREApr 13, 2023

Japan’s Defense Ministry said there was no confirmation that an apparent North Korean long-range missile had landed in or near Japanese territory on Thursday, after a rare alert was issued earlier for residents of Hokkaido to seek immediate shelter.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government had confirmed that no missile had landed within Japanese territory and was continuing to analyze the launch. The Japan Coast Guard said the missile was believed to have already splashed down. It did not say where.

In a news conference Thursday morning, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said an intercontinental ballistic missile-class weapon was believed to have been fired, but he said the ministry had not confirmed whether the missile had fallen into Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from its coast. He did not take questions after his brief remarks.

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