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2nd LD Writethru: Japan's defense ministry confirms DPRK missile launch

Xinhua, September 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Japanese government on Monday condemned the firing by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, describing the act as being in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

The government said in a statement that it will strongly protest the launches with Pyongyang and underscored the fact that the launches violate the ban imposed by the UN Security Council on the DPRK from using missile technology.

The Japanese government said it believes the missiles were launched at around 12:13 p.m. local time from a site on the DPRK's west coast and, according to the Defense Ministry here, the missiles flew for around 1,000 km before falling into the Sea of Japan, within Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The government said that it has along with Japan's coast guard been gathering information as to whether any vessels or aircraft in the region along the projectiles' flight paths and landing spots in the Sea of Japan have been damaged, but confirmed that it had received no reports of damage or injury as yet.

The latest launch by the DPRK comes as global leaders gathered for the Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou, China.

The DPRK has recently voiced its opposition to the joint military drills conducted by the United States and South Korea in the region which concluded last Friday, with the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise comprising some 25,000 U.S. troops.

The DPRK also stands opposed to the U.S. and South Korea deciding to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea to counter potential threats from the DPRK.

The spate of recent launches, government officials here have said, have also been a show of defiance against UN Security Council resolutions slapped on the DPRK for its ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile technology programs, which are banned under the council's resolutions.

Monday's launches forced Japan's new Defense Minister Tomomi Inada to cancel a scheduled visit to a local Ground Self-Defense Force base in Tokyo in the afternoon, to address the situation. Endit