North Korea’s possible failed ICBM launch triggers take shelter warning in Japan

South Korean officials believe the ICBM, which prompted an alert for residents in parts of Japan to seek shelter, failed in flight

The launches came a day after Pyongyang fired more than 20 missiles, including one that landed off Seoul’s coast for the first time

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North Korea has conducted a series of weapons tests this year that have raised tensions in the region. File photo: KCNA/KNS via AP

Published: 8:14am, 3 Nov 2022Updated: 2:07pm, 3 Nov 2022

North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles on Thursday, including a possible failed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that triggered an alert to residents in parts of central and northern Japan to seek shelter.

Despite an initial government warning that a missile had overflown Japan, Tokyo later said that was incorrect.

Officials in South Korea and Japan said the missile may have been an ICBM, which are North Korea’s longest-range weapons, and are designed to carry a nuclear warhead to the other side of the planet.

South Korean officials believe the ICBM failed in flight, Yonhap news agency reported, without elaborating. A spokesman for South Korea’s ministry of defence declined to confirm the possible failure.

Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the government had lost track of the missile over the Sea of Japan, prompting it to correct its earlier announcement that it had flown over the country.

Retired vice admiral and former Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force fleet commander Yoji Koda said that the loss of radar tracking on the projectile pointed to a failed launch.