‘Please evacuate’: North Korean missile launch sparks panicked warning

North Korea has fired an unidentified ballistic missile, sparking widespread panic among neighbouring nations.

A missile launched by North Korea – the 30th this year alone – has sparked panicked evacuation warnings in nearby Japan, as the rogue nation’s recent barrage leaves the entire region on edge.

On Thursday morning, North Korea fired at least one unidentified ballistic missile which travelled over Japan before landing in the Pacific Ocean.

It prompted an alarming warning from the Japanese Prime Minister’s office, which tweeted: “Missile launched. Missile launched. A missile is believed to have been launched from North Korea. Please evacuate to a building or underground”.

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South Korea told residents on the island of Ulleungdo off its east coast to evacuate to bunkers after North Korea fired three short range ballistic missiles on November 2. Picture: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP

An alert was also sent by Japan’s Coast Guard to vessels in the vicinity, with the organisation tweeting: “North Korea fired a possible missile, urged to keep an eye out for further information, and do not approach them and report the relevant information to the Coast Guard if you find any objects”.

The Japanese Prime Minister’s office later confirmed that the missile had passed, stating in a follow-up tweet that: “The missile is believed to have passed into the Pacific Ocean at approximately 7.48am. If you see anything suspicious, please do not approach it and contact the police or fire department immediately”.

[Emergency alert]
North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile. Further updates will follow.

— PM's Office of Japan (@JPN_PMO) November 2, 2022

However, the office later declared that the launch of a ballistic missile “in a manner that passes through the airspace over Japan is an act that can potentially seriously impact the lives and property of the Japanese people”, and vowed to confirm any possible damage, continue to collect information regarding North Korea’s “possible future actions” and to “continue to engage in necessary responses in a timely and appropriate manner, acting in co-operation” with the US and other relevant countries.

According to CNN, today’s missile is at least the 30th launched in 2022 alone, and it comes hot on the heels of a “barrage” of short-range missile tests fired yesterday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, pictured delivering a speech at the Central Academy of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang. Picture: KCNA via KNS/AFP

On Wednesday, the South Korean Defence Ministry claimed that at least 23 different missiles had been launched – the most the nation had ever launched in a single day – to the east and west of the Korean Peninsula.

One short-range ballistic missile landed close to South Korean territorial waters, crossing the nations’ de facto maritime border known as the Northern Limit Line for the first time since Korea was divided back in 1953.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol declared the shocking act was “effectively a territorial invasion”, and vowed “swift and stern measures so that North Korea’s provocations pay a clear price”.

“President Yoon pointed out today that North Korea’s provocation is an effective territorial invasion by a missile that crossed the Northern Limit Line for the first time since the division,” his office said in a statement, adding that the launch was “very rare and intolerable”.

“Our military vowed to respond firmly to this (provocation),” it continued.

Yesterday’s launch also prompted a terrifying, televised air raid warning for the South Korean island on Ulleungdo, with residents urged to “evacuate to the nearest underground shelter”.

At the time, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said North Korea was launching missiles at an “unprecedentedly high frequency”, with today’s launch set to further tensions in the already fraught region.

Threat of ‘armed conflict’

The situation has deteriorated drastically and rapidly, with Sejong Institute researcher Cheong Seong-chang recently telling AFP it was “now a dangerous and unstable situation that could lead to armed conflict”.

His comments came as leader Kim Jong-un significantly upped the pressure in recent weeks, with the BBC’s Seoul correspondent Jean Mackenzie describing it as “the most volatile it has been in five years”, with tensions tipped to worsen in the near future.

The North Korea situation is the most volatile it has been in five years. Picture: KCNA via KNS/AFP

Late last month, Kim Jong-dae, a former advisor in South Korea’s Defence Ministry, told the BBC Kim was clearly growing bolder and that the world couldn’t afford to ignore the threat.

“We have never seen this audacity and aggression before, it is different. It is the North acting like a nuclear state,” he said.

Earlier this week, North Korea warned of “powerful measures” if the US didn’t stop carrying out military drills with partners including South Korea.

The statement was seen as a clue Kim might be planning his first nuclear test in half a decade.

It also followed a string of recent terrifying statements from the dictator, including that his country’s evolution into a nuclear power was “irreversible” and that North Korea was “completely ready to hit and destroy targets at any time from any location”.

– with AFP