North Korea fired a long-range rocket over the Tohoku region Sunday, but Japan did not try to shoot it down because its debris posed no threat to Japanese territory.
The missile, which Pyongyang claimed was carrying a satellite, blasted off from the Musudan-ri launch facility at 11:30 a.m. despite warnings from Tokyo and Washington that it would violate U.N. resolutions banning the North from ballistic activity. The Defense Ministry said the rocket's first booster fell into the Sea of Japan approximately 280 km west of Akita Prefecture at around 11:37 a.m.
The Self-Defense Forces finished tracking the rocket at 11:48 a.m. after it had crossed northern Honshu and was about 2,100 km east of Japan over the Pacific. The SDF did not confirm whether the second booster fell into the Pacific. Thirteen SDF planes were dispatched to the Tohoku region to look for damage, the ministry said.