Japan moved into an alert posture on Sunday, September 20, after North Korea launched a 'suspected ballistic missile' toward the East sea of the Korean Peninsula (Sea of Japan). Japan’s defense ministry said the projectile appeared to be a ballistic missile. South Korea’s defense ministry separately reported that North Korea had fired an unidentified projectile, while Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that the missile came down outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Japan’s Prime Minister’s Office posted an emergency alert on X saying North Korea had launched a suspected ballistic missile and that further updates would follow.
The office later published instructions from the prime minister calling on authorities to “dedicate maximum effort” to gathering and analysing information and to provide the public with information in a timely and appropriate manner.
The instructions also ordered officials to ensure the safety of aircraft, vessels and other assets and to take all possible precautionary measures, including maintaining readiness for contingencies.
The response placed the focus on monitoring the missile’s trajectory and protecting people and assets as authorities assessed the launch.
According to NHK, the projectile had fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. That means the reported landing point was beyond the area extending up to 200 nautical miles from Japan’s coast where the country has specific rights over natural resources under international law.
South Korea also confirmed the launch but initially described the weapon only as an unidentified projectile. The exact missile type, launch location and other technical details were not immediately known.
A day earlier, North Korea rejected a resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency that criticized its nuclear weapons programme. Pyongyang has continued to insist that its nuclear status is irreversible, while rejecting international calls for denuclearisation.
North Korea had also condemned a U.S.-led naval exercise involving the United States, South Korea and Japan near Guam. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned on September 17 that Pyongyang would respond to U.S.-led military activities as threats.