North Korea has fired a ballistic missile that passed over Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters early Tuesday.
A South Korean military official told NBC News that the missile was fired around 5:57 a.m. local time on Tuesday. The official said that the missile flew for about 2,700 kilometers (1,678 miles), reaching a maximum altitude of 550 kilometers (342 miles). U.S. Pacific Command projected that the missile splashed down at 6:29 a.m. local time.
Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the Japanese government warned that a North Korean missile was headed toward the Tohoku region at the northern end of the country. NHK also reported that Japan took no action to shoot down the missile.
The Japanese broadcaster reported that the North Korean missile broke into three pieces and fell into the sea.
Dow Jones industrial average futures opened more than 100 points lower following the news.
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The Japanese government has urged people in Tohoku to take refuge in solid buildings or underground shelters, according to NHK.
On Monday, U.S. and Japanese servicemen concluded joint exercises in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost major island. Currently, South Korean and U.S. forces are in the middle of their annual joint exercises.
A senior U.S. intelligence official told NBC that this would be the first missile test to pass over Japan on a high altitude trajectory. In 1998, North Korea fired a missile through Japanese airspace.
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BREAKING: North Korea has launched a missile, Japanese govt. warns it is headed towards Northern Japan -Reuters/NHK https://t.co/Qandfycwg5
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) August 28, 2017
#breaking South Korea says North Korean missile flew 2700km (almost 1700 miles) over Japan and reached altitude of 550km (340 miles). pic.twitter.com/Mvu9kPAz4L
— Will Ripley (@willripleyCNN) August 28, 2017
Ballistic overflight is a violation of Japan's airspace and their sovereignty. It is a damn serious offense. https://t.co/8Eu3FMy8tK
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 28, 2017
I would call it a declaration of war against Japan. Does Japan have anti-missile defenses? If so why didn’t they use them? Not up to speed on that situation.
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