In the morning of October 4, the DPRK launched a ballistic missile towards Japan.

It flew over Hokkaido Prefecture and fell into the Pacific Ocean, according to the data of the emergency warning system.

For the first time in the history of observations, the rocket flew the maximum distance - 4,600 kilometers.

This was stated by the Minister of Defense of Japan ,

Yasukazu Hamada

, reports NHK.

"The ballistic missile launched by North Korea belongs to the class of ballistic missiles of medium range or above.

In addition, it turned out that the estimated flight distance from the launch point to the drop point was about 4,600 kilometers, which makes it the longest in history," the minister said.

According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the North Korean ballistic missile flew about 4,500 km, reached an altitude of 970 km and developed a speed 17 times faster than the speed of sound.


The Japanese authorities declared an air alert after the launch on October 4.

The Coast Guard reported that the missile had already fallen.

The exact place of the fall is not specified.

The launch of a missile by North Korea became the fifth in the last two weeks.

The last time a North Korean missile flew over the territory of Japan was five years ago.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida "strongly condemned" the North Korean missile launch and called it an "outrageous act".

South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol warned North Korea that the launch would be followed by a "decisive response".