Days after Japanese leaders vowed to double their defense spending to increase the nation’s ability to defend itself from such attacks, North Korea tests fired a missile capable of hitting Japan in the first such display of its military capability in a month, the New York Times reports.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly watched the firing of the two missiles believed to have intercontinental range from Tongchang-ri space flight center. While the exact type of missile launched was not released, North Korea has used the site to test launch its Hwasong-17 two-stage solid fuel rocket November 18th. The missiles launched Sunday flew only around 300 miles before crashing into the sea, apparently intentionally, between the Korean peninsula and Japan.
On Friday, Japan announced its intention to bolster its ability to counter such North Korean aggression and to defend itself from outside threats from the likes of China and Russia by obtaining at least 1,000 missiles, including US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, and developing its own long-range missile manufacturing capability, which the nation lacks.