Japan says North Korean missiles did not reach its economic zone

Short-range missiles

TOKYO, May 4. /TASS/: North Korea’s missiles fired in the direction of the Sea of Japan have not reached Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the country’s government said.

"We have not registered any missile in our economic zone," the Kyodo news agency quoted a spokesman for the cabinet as saying. He also rejected reports that Pyongyang had launched ballistic missiles.

Earlier, the Yonhap news agency reported citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) that North Korea had fired several short-range missiles, which flew some 70-200 km.

The US military has not registered Pyongyang’s missile launches, the CNN reported citing Pentagon sources. The US and South Korean military are analyzing the data.

Last time, Pyongyang carried out missile launches in November 2017. It fired a Hwasong-15 missile that reached a height of 4,475 km and covered a distance of 950 km. Pyongyang said after the launch that this missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and that the entire US territory is within its reach.

In April 2018, Pyongyang announced it was halting tests of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles of various range with the goal of developing the socialist economy and improving living conditions of its citizens. After that last May North Korea eliminated the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where six underground explosions had been conducted. Between 2016 and 2017, North Korea carried out nearly 40 ballistic missile launches.