North Korea fires another 'ballistic missile over Japan'

North Korea fires ‘ballistic missile over Japan’ – making it the hermit nation’s SEVENTH projectile test in just two weeks

• Kim Jong Un has upped the ante in the run-up to an Asia visit by Kamala Harris
• The latest launch, which fell outside Japanese waters, is the seventh in days
• Pyongyang typically fires the rockets straight into the air as a hostile gesture
• Japanese PM Kishida last week condemned the launches as ‘barbaric’ 

North Korea appears to have fired another ballistic missile toward Japan just days after residents were told to take shelter amid the first project test in five years.

The missile landed outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), according to the South Korean Coast Guard.

The latest missile test is North Korea’s seventh projectile test in just two weeks, in a move suspected to be tied to an upcoming visit to Thailand by US Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The EEZ is Japan’s protected border zone stretching from Tokyo Bay to the Izu and Ogasawara Islands.

A Seoul, South Korea train station TV shows North Korean footage of a rocket launch last week

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says the launch was made early Sunday but gave no further details like how far the weapon flew.

The Japanese government also says North Korea has fired a possible ballistic missile.

The launch, the North’s sixth round of weapons tests in two weeks, came hours after the United States and South Korea wrapped a new round of naval drills off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast. 

The drills involved a U.S. aircraft carrier.

North Korea’s military warned Saturday that the U.S. redeployment of the aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula is causing a “considerably huge negative splash” in regional security.

Japanese military drills are also set to take place over the coming days, further encouraging North Korea’s saber-rattling.

Pyongyang typically fires the missiles almost straight up into the air – limiting their range so that they land only a short distance off the coast.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the fifth launch last week and called North Korea’s actions ‘barbaric.’ 

He noted that the government would continue to gather and analyse information.

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