By Muhammad Luqman
Pakistan has expressed concern over the missile launch carried out by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday. “We urge all sides to exercise restraint and to abide by their obligations under the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions,” Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman said on Wednesday.
The “unidentified ballistic missile” was launched from Sunan, near Pyongyang, the North Korea’s capital.
Tokyo said it (missile) overflew its territory, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying the government would take “full steps” to ensure the safety of the Japanese people.
The country’s chief government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said the missile posed a “serious, grave security threat” to Japan.
The firing comes days after Pyongyang launched three short-range missiles in what was seen as a minimal provocation after the start of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian South Korean-US joint military exercises.
But Tuesday’s flight path represents a significant escalation by Pyongyang, which earlier this month threatened to fire a salvo of missiles towards the US territory of Guam.
When Pyongyang carried out its first two successful tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last month it fired them on lofted trajectories that avoided travelling over the Asian island nation.
Japan has in the past vowed to shoot down North Korean missiles or rockets that threaten to hit its territory, and deployed its Patriot missile defence system in response to the Guam threat, reports and officials said, with an Aegis destroyer also stationed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
In 2009, a North Korean rocket passed over Japanese territory without incident, triggering Japan’s immediate denouncement.
