A North Korean ballistic missile flew over Japan: South Korea dropped two precision bombs on an uninhabited island in the Yellow Sea

Sylvie Claire / October 4, 2022

The South Korean military dropped two precision bombs on the uninhabited island of Jikdo in the Yellow Sea, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday.

The maneuver follows the firing of a North Korean missile into Japan early Tuesday.

The South Korean military has also conducted several air maneuvers in collaboration with the U.S. military.

The Japanese government issued an alert at 7:29 a.m. Tuesday, informing residents of two northern regions of a North Korean missile strike. They were asked to evacuate to underground buildings.

In Tokyo, the government said North Korea appeared to have fired a missile toward the main island of Hokkaido, located in the far north of Japan, and the northeastern prefecture of Aomori, Kyodo news agency reported. The Japanese coast guard also confirmed the launch of a North Korean missile.

The launch of this missile, which is part of an intensive test campaign launched by Pyongyang, took place in “the east”, said the high command of the South Korean army in a statement, without further details.

This is the fifth such provocation since the end of last month, reports the Yonhap news agency. North Korea, which has nuclear weapons, had already tested two other missiles on Saturday even though United Nations resolutions prohibit it from testing any type of ballistic missile.

The accumulation of missile tests by North Korea is seen by experts as a response to recent sea maneuvers by South Korean and U.S. forces. The aircraft carrier “USS Ronald Reagan” also participated in the four-day naval exercises. It was the first time a U.S. aircraft carrier was deployed to South Korea in nearly four years.