In a brazen rejection of tough new U.N. sanctions, North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile over Hokkaido on Friday that flew about 3,700 km before splashing down far out in the Pacific Ocean — its second launch over Japan in just over two weeks.
The Japanese government said the missile was launched at around 6:57 a.m. and went down at around 7:16 a.m. about 2,200 km east of Cape Erimo, the farthest a North Korean missile has ever flown.
At a news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the missile had flown about 3,700 km in total while reaching a maximum altitude of about 800 km, meaning it had not been "lofted," or launched on steep trajectory. Lofting missiles shortens their range but makes interception exceedingly difficult.