North Korea Fires Missile Over Japan Causing Evacuations

[Carmen Elsa Irarragorri Wyland]

On Monday morning, the people of Japan were likely doing the same things that people in America were doing — shaking off the fog from the weekend and prepping to start a brand new week. Then, the sirens went off and Japanese cell phones alerted owners to a text they never wanted to get.

The text, from the Japanese government, warned the citizens of Japan to take cover, since North Korea had just fired a missile. The missile, launched from Pyongyang, flew directly over northern Japan at around 6:00 AM local time. It was in the air for eight minutes and traveled 1,700 miles before it broke off into three pieces and landed in the Pacific Ocean as Japanese citizens waited in their basements or other sturdy shelters, probably thinking this was a hell of a way to start the week.

Once again, national leaders are furious as North Korea ignores UN resolutions. The Pentagon let it be known they were aware of the launch, while Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary, stated that he was “outraged” by the launch. Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said he would do all in his power to protect his people.

The missile launch just happens to coincide with military exercises being conducted between American and Japanese military. A portion of these exercises is dedicated to the Japanese military practicing rapid deployment of its PAC-3 anti-missile system. It isn’t hard to figure out that North Korea was flexing its muscles.

After making multiple comments about targeting Guam, the missile launched over Japan was a clear warning that North Korea hasn’t quite given up on trying to intimidate the US. To reach Guam, any missile sent from North Korea would have to go over Japan.

While the launched missile didn’t travel quite far enough to indicate that it could even reach Guam, the message was clear; North Korea has Guam in its sights and is actively measuring their capabilities.