Evacuation Order Issued by Japan Following North Koreas Ballistic Missile Launch in Hokkaido


Japan issues evacuation order after North Korea fired ballistic missile�in�Hokkaido

Following the launch of a ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area on Thursday morning, April 13, North Korea prompted Japanese authorities to issue evacuation warnings to residents of the northern island of Hokkaido.

The defense ministry of Japan reported that North Korea had launched an ICBM at a lofted angle at 7:22 a.m. KST and initially issued a warning indicating that it would land near Hokkaido around 8 a.m.

Japanese authorities later corrected the evacuation order, stating that the missile did not pose a danger to residents and that there was no indication it landed inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Tokyo confirmed that the missile landed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) just before 8:19 a.m., signifying that it had been in the air for just under an hour.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea agreed that the missile had been launched at “a vertical angle” from the Pyongyang area at around 7:23 a.m. and had flown approximately 621 miles (1,000 km) before splashing down. Seoul characterized it as an “intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile.”

Envoys from the U.S., South Korea and Japan “strongly condemned” the launch, labelling it as a “provocation,” according to a readout of a remote meeting on Thursday morning between Sung Kim, Kim Gunn and Takehiro Funakosh.

Officials from the three countries are scheduled to discuss “DPRK nuclear and missile threats and concrete ways to enhance trilateral defense cooperation” at Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT) in Washington on Friday.

The White House National Security Council stated on Thursday that the launch “needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing” regional security, and that North Korea is neglecting “the well-being of its people” by focusing on missile development. NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said, “The door has not closed on diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its destabilizing actions and instead choose diplomatic engagement.”

Thursday’s launch appears to be North Korea’s first in over two weeks and comes as Pyongyang has not responded to routine inter-Korean military hotline calls for seven days, according to Seoul.


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