North Korea tested a new ballistic missile on northern Japan Tuesday before falling into the sea, the Japanese government said.
The army did not intervene to shoot down the rocket that passed through Japanese territory at dawn on Tuesday (2106) GMT.
Local media reported that the missile crashed, the first time a missile fired by Pyongyang landed on Japan in eight years.
In his first comment following the rocket launch, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed he would do everything in his power to protect the citizens.
"We will do our best to protect the lives of the citizens," he told reporters briefly before entering an emergency meeting at his Tokyo office.
The system, which is designed to operate all radio systems in order to issue warnings in the event of any emergency, warned citizens in the region to take all precautions, but the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation confirmed no losses.
State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Yoshihid Soja described the latest test as an "unprecedented" threat, stressing that Japan would take "appropriate steps" in response.
Japan is likely to deal with the latest test as a dangerous escalation of tension due to the missile's trajectory, said Yujita Limay, a BBC correspondent in Seoul.
The Pentagon said Tuesday's test was not a threat to the United States, and the military was working to gather more intelligence on the matter.
Earlier this month, North Korea threatened to fire missiles at the US Pacific region of Guam, while US President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang would face "fire and anger" if the United States threatened.
The launch of the new flag comes after Pyongyang announced its experience of what it said was a new type of ballistic missile capable of carrying large-scale nuclear warheads.
Source:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/28/japanese-government-warns-north-korea-missile-headed-toward-northern-japan-report-says.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/28/politics/north-korea-launch-unidentified-projectile/index.html