By Hyung-Jin Kim, Kim Tong-Hyung and Mari Yamaguchi -
The Associated Press
North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile at Japan for the first time in five years on Tuesday, forcing Japanese authorities to order evacuations and suspend train services, as North Korea intensifies its tests of weapons designed to target North Korea. US allies in the region.
It is North Korea's biggest missile test since January, when it launched a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile capable of reaching the US territory of Guam.
Japan and South Korea have called security meetings to discuss the incident.
Japan's prime minister's office said at least one of the missiles launched by North Korea flew over Japan and is believed to have landed in the Pacific Ocean.
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Japanese authorities alerted residents of the northeastern regions to go to shelters.
It was the first "Alert J" since 2017, when North Korea launched a Hwasong-12 missile over Japan in its previous series of weapons tests.
Train service was temporarily suspended in the Hokkaido and Aomori regions until the government issued a subsequent warning that the North Korean missile had apparently landed in the Pacific.
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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that "the launch, which follows a series of recent launches by North Korea, is a reckless act which he condemned in the strongest terms."
He assured that he would convene the National Security Council to discuss the situation.
Japan's Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said no damage had been reported from the missile, which flew for 22 minutes and landed in waters outside the country's exclusive economic zone.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the missile was fired from inside North Korea.
He added that the South Korean military has raised its level of vigilance and maintained its level of readiness in close coordination with the United States.
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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the missile's range was 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles), putting Guam within range.
Yoon said he had called a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the launch and North Korea's "reckless nuclear provocations," which would face a harsh response from Seoul and the international community.
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It is North Korea's fifth round of weapons tests in the last 10 days, in what is perceived as an apparent response to joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States and other training between allies, including Japan, carried out. In the past week.
The missiles launched during the previous four rounds were short-range and landed in waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.
Those missiles are capable of hitting targets in South Korea.
North Korea has launched around 40 missiles during its nearly 20 tests so far this year.
North Korean President Kim Jong Un vows to expand his nuclear arsenal and refuses to resume diplomatic negotiations on nuclear matters with the United States.
Some experts say Kim would eventually try to use the growing size of his arsenal to pressure Washington into accepting his nation as a nuclear state, a recognition he sees as necessary to get international sanctions lifted and other concessions.
