JAPAN PROTESTS AS NORTH KOREA LAUNCHES SPY SATELLITE

Japan protested the launch via its embassy in Beijing, claiming that it went against UN resolutions that forbade the employment of ballistic missiles

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Following North Korea’s announcement that it had successfully launched its first military spy satellite into orbit, Okinawan residents received a missile alert from Japan, which was later removed. According to the Japanese prime minister’s office, a ballistic missile crossed the Okinawa prefecture and entered the Pacific Ocean.

Japan, which had urged Pyongyang not to conduct a launch using ballistic missile technology, said it had not confirmed whether the payload had entered space.

The Japanese government said the projectile split into multiple parts, one of which flew over the southern prefecture of Okinawa. Japan lodged a protest via its embassy in Beijing over the launch, saying it violated U.N. resolutions banning the use of ballistic missile technology by Pyongyang, Kyodo reported.