North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Saturday, Japan's Defense Ministry said, with the weapon splashing down some 200 kilometers off Hokkaido's Oshima Island, inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The missile, the first "ICBM-class" weapon to be fired by the North since November, traveled roughly 900 km, hitting a peak altitude of 5,700 km, the ministry said. With a flight time of 66 minutes, the missile was likely flown on a “lofted” trajectory, the ministry added, meaning it had been nearly shot straight up so as to avoid overflying neighboring countries.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan had protested the launch, calling it "an outrage" and escalation against "the international community as a whole."