UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM JAPAN PM, AUSTRALIAN FM; ADDS BACKGROUND; CHANGES DECK
By Merve Berker and Riyaz ul Khaliq
ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) – North Korea launched three ballistic missiles in a single day, South Korea’s military said early Thursday.
It said that one of the missiles was fired from the capital Pyongyang and appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The missile landed in waters about 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) off Japan’s coast.
Three Japanese prefectures -- Miyagi, Yamagata, and Niigata -- issued emergency alerts for residents to shelter indoors and temporarily halted train service over fears one of the missiles would pass overhead.
However, the missile fell into the Sea of Japan, known in South Korea as the East Sea, without traveling over Japanese territory, Japanese authorities said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tokyo has conveyed a “strong protest and condemnation” to Pyongyang over the missile launches.
Fumio called the continuous firing of missiles by North Korea “unacceptable.”
“North Korea has conducted repeated ballistic missile launches in recent days. This is an outrage and should never be tolerated. I have already instructed the relevant bodies to check whether there was any damage, to provide appropriate information to the public, and to analyze all that information,” he told reporters, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
Tokyo has issued a demarche to Pyongyang through its embassy in Beijing.
Railway services in some parts of Japan were partially suspended.
Australia also urged Pyongyang to “cease” missile launches, saying North Korea’s missile launches are “recklessly threatening the security of the Republic of Korea (South Korea).”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said North Korea’s actions continue to "undermine stability" in the region and "violate" multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
Taiwan also condemned the missile launches, saying the actions "undermine regional peace and stability."
North Korea launched around two dozen missiles on Wednesday, apparently in response to five-day large-scale combined air drills by South Korea and the US that kicked off on Monday, further escalating tensions on Korean Peninsula.
According to BNO News, Wednesday's missile launches by North Korea make up 11% of all missile launches by the country since 1953.