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Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

North Korea technologically capable of launching nuclear strike on Japan, Tokyo warns

Hirokazu Matsuno once again criticized Pyongyang’s recent missile launch, stressing that it posed a threat to peace and stability in the region in general

TOKYO, July 12. /TASS/. North Korea possesses technologies that enable it to target Japan with nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.

"We believe that as far as technologies go, North Korea is now capable of launching a strike on our country, using nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles," he noted. Matsuno once again criticized Pyongyang’s recent missile launch, stressing that it posed a threat to peace and stability in the region in general, and to Japan in particular.

Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea launched what Japan believes to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The missile covered a distance of about 1,000 kilometers in 74 minutes, setting a record for the duration of North Korean missile flights, and reached an altitude of 6,000 kilometers. The Japanese Defense Ministry says that the ICBM could have reached anywhere in the US if launched on a standard flight path.

Since 2017, North Korea has test-fired 14 missiles with a flight range of 5,500 kilometers and more, which Japan classifies as ICBM. The largest number of such launches - seven - took place in 2022. This year to date, North Korea has already carried out four such launches.

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North Korea Japan Situation on the Korean Peninsula

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