The North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD said a missile was tracked for 37 minutes from its launch in North Korea until it entered the waters of the Sea of Japan. No damage was reported.
The Hawaii-based US Pacific Command announced that they monitored the trajectory of a medium-range ballistic missile launched from near an airfield in North Korea until it fell without incident into the Sea of Japan. The command said the missile was not a threat to North America.
Japanese and South Korean officials also reported the firing of the missile. It was part of a series of test launches conducted by North Korea to further the development of a nuclear enhanced missile that could perhaps one day reach the United States.
The President of the US, Donald Trump, responded on Twitter to the most recent ballistic missile launch as follows:
“Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!”
Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, told the press that the missile was fired at 9:40am on Tuesday and cruised for 40 minutes until it splashed into the Sea of Japan where that country claims economic territorial rights. He added that no planes or boats reported damage, but the Japanese media said that the coast guard had been alerted to the possibility of falling objects.