JAPAN UNVEILS LAUNCH FOOTAGE

[Anchor Lead]

The Japanese government also moved quickly following North Korea’s ICBM launch on Thursday. Tokyo’s defense ministry unveiled footage of an object, believed to be a North Korean missile, falling into its territorial waters.

[Pkg]

In the wake of Pyongyang’s latest provocation, Japan’s Self-Defense Force immediately flew an F-15 fighter jet. The aircraft was gathering intelligence over Aomori Prefecture in northern Honshu when an unknown object was caught on camera falling from the sky, producing white smoke. The defense ministry disclosed the footage speculating it to be the missile fired by North Korea. The Tokyo government went on to convene a security council meeting and discussed response measures to the ICBM launch. Japanese broadcasters also relayed live image of western waters, with tensions palpably felt in Japan. The ministry explained the missile fell into the East Sea some 150 kilometers west of Hokkaido. A North Korean missile has again landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone six months after the previous incident last September. Japanese officials said the missile traveled 1,100 kilometers for 71 minutes with a maximum altitude of around 6,000 kilometers. The assessment is similar to one issued by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

[Soundbite] Oniki Makoto(Japan’s Deputy Defense Minister) : "Given the altitude of over 6,000km, the missile is believed to be a new ICBM."

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida who was on his way to Belgium for the G7 summit was told about the missile launch in his plane and held a news conference as soon as he arrived in Brussels.

[Soundbite] Kishida Fumio(Japanese Prime Minister) : "Japan strongly condemns N. Korea’s ballistic missile launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions."

Kishida said the ICBM launch is an unacceptable provocation and expressed stern condemnation. Japanese media said the prime minister met with US President Joe Biden at the G7 summit and discussed North Korea.