Tokyo Tower. File photo TOKYO, May 4. Japan protested to North Korea over the launch of a ballistic missile, Japanese Deputy Defense Minister Makoto Oniki told reporters, the Kyodo news agency reported. The protest was transmitted through diplomatic channels through the embassy in Beijing. At 12.10 (6.10 Moscow time), the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea reported that North Korea launched an unidentified projectile in the direction of the Sea of Japan, it is likely that this is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The DPRK launched an unidentified projectile towards the Sea of JapanThis is the 14th test of weapons by North Korea in 2022. Japan's Maritime Security Service says a supposedly North Korean-fired ballistic missile has already gone down. A source in the government of the Kyodo news agency reported that the fall occurred, presumably, outside the exclusive economic zone of Japan, no damage was recorded for Japan. test launch of Hwaseong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile. The Japanese Ministry of Defense believes that with a conventional trajectory, the range of the missile could be 15,000 kilometers, which is sufficient to cover the entire territory of the United States. The Japanese military estimated that the missile was in the air for 71 minutes, covering a distance of 1,100 kilometers and reaching a maximum flight altitude of more than 6,000 kilometers, which is well above the performance of the Hwaseong-15 ICBM tested in 2017. The flight time and altitude reached were the highest ever for a North Korean missile.In Japan, no damage was recorded from a missile launched by the DPRKDPRK tested hypersonic missiles on January 5 and 11, and on January 14, two short-range ballistic missiles were fired from a railway missile system. On January 17 and 27, the DPRK tested short-range tactical guided missiles. Also on January 25, two long-range cruise missiles were launched, which, unlike ballistic missile tests, does not violate UN Security Council resolutions. On January 30, North Korea conducted a test launch of the Hwaseong-12 medium-range ballistic missile. Then another launch was made on 27 February. The rocket flew approximately 300 kilometers with a maximum altitude of 620 kilometers. The next day, the DPRK announced that it had launched as part of the development of a reconnaissance satellite. The accuracy of photography, data transmission and control systems were tested. On March 5, North Korea tested an intercontinental missile, another attempt to launch an ICBM was carried out on March 16, but ended in failure. On March 20, North Korea launched four MLRS shells. At the end of April, the DPRK tested a new tactical guided weapon system in the presence of the country's leader Kim Jong-un, the grandson of Kim Il Sung. It was reported that the system plays an important role in increasing the effectiveness and diversity of the use of Pyongyang's tactical nuclear weapons. South Korea said that the system is similar to the North Korean analogue of the Iskander complex called KN-23, but improved, on a mobile installation and with two torpedo tubes. During the test, two missiles were fired, the maximum flight altitude of the projectiles was 25 kilometers, the range was approximately 110 kilometers, and the maximum speed was up to Mach 4.
