The Japanese government announced that North Korea launched suspected ballistic missiles in succession this morning (October 12), and all appear to have fallen outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

According to Japan's Kyodo News and NHK, the Japan Coast Guard announced at around 9:26 a.m., based on information provided by the Ministry of Defense, that "an object suspected to be a ballistic missile launched by North Korea appears to have already fallen outside the EEZ."

The Japan Coast Guard additionally announced at around 9:40 a.m. that another projectile suspected to be a North Korean ballistic missile had been launched.

The Japan Coast Guard urged navigating vessels to exercise caution.

The Ministry of Defense stated that it is gathering information to confirm whether there is any impact on Japan.

The Japanese government has assembled an emergency response team consisting of ministry officials at the Prime Minister's Office Crisis Management Center to check for damage and assess the situation.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed relevant ministries to make every effort to collect and analyze information regarding the North Korean projectile launches and to thoroughly confirm the safety of aircraft and vessels.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff also announced that North Korea launched an unidentified projectile into waters off DONGHAE (the East Sea) this morning.

If the projectile is confirmed to be a ballistic missile, it would be North Korea's first launch in nine days since October 3.
 
(Photo: Korean Central News Agency, Yonhap News)