Defense & Security

Ballistic Missiles Fired by North Korea May Have Fallen into Japan’s EEZ

KCNA via Reuters
Korean People’s Army test-launches a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile from an undisclosed location in North Korea in this image released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency on May 16.

By Hiroshi Uesugi / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

21:31 JST, June 15, 2023

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan at about 7:25 p.m. and 7:37 p.m. on Thursday from the Sunan area of Pyongyang, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Earlier, the Japanese Defense Ministry said possible ballistic missiles were launched from North Korea on Thursday night. According to a Defense Ministry official, the projectiles may have fallen into the Sea of Japan within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned North Korea’s launch of two ballistic missiles Thursday night. Kishida told reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office, “This is an outrageous act that violates relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and escalates provocations against the international community as a whole.”