North Korea’s first missile test over Japan in five years has elicited a flurry of condemnations and joint military drills between the U.S. and allies Japan and South Korea, but the harsh rhetoric and muscle-flexing appear unlikely to deter Pyongyang from continuing to refine its missile and nuclear arsenal.
In a 25-minute phone call late Tuesday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden called the North’s launch of an apparent intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) “a serious and imminent threat to Japan's security and a clear and grave challenge to the international community,” according to the Japanese government.
The White House, which characterized the weapon as a “long-range ballistic missile,” said in a statement that the U.S. and Japan “would continue to closely coordinate their immediate and longer-term response bilaterally, trilaterally with the Republic of Korea, and with the international community."