After a short period of relative calm emanating from the Korean Peninsula, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s provocative test-firing of a missile over Japan on Tuesday left many world leaders, including our Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, in no doubt that the regime had overstepped the mark and that further recriminations were necessary.
The missile was launched from a site north east of Pyongyang on Tuesday morning at 6:58am (AEST) and flew over Japan’s Hokkaido Island, some eight minutes later, eventually breaking up into three pieces in the sea east of Japan after a 2,700km journey. The ballistic missile reached a height of 550km.
Kim Jong-un said the firing of the missilewas a “meaningful prelude” to containing the American territory of Guam, adding he will continue to watch the response of America before committing to further action.
Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Shinzo Abe, said of the action “this reckless act of firing a missile over our nation is an unprecedented, serious and significant threat, one that seriously diminishes the peace and safety of the region”. The President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, via a White House statement, was quick to support an ally, saying “threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world. All options are on the table”.
US Ambassador to the United Nations, Ms Nikki Haley, told reporters that North Korea’s actions were “unacceptable” and that the country “had violated every single UN Security Council resolution.”
The Prime Minister issued a joint statement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, condemning the action, saying “it is a provocative and threatening act by a dangerous regime”.
Responding in Bundaberg, the Opposition Leader, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, said “no doubt it was a very provocative action by North Korea. We, Labor, condemn it absolutely?—?we stand alongside the Government… I hope that Australia continues, along with other nations, to encourage China to put as much pressure as they can, on the North Korean regime”.
The Japanese Government’s ‘J-Alert’, an automated messaging system used by their Fire and Disaster Management Authority, usually containing information about earthquakes or tsunamis, was the early warning system as text messages were dispatched with three minutes warning that “A missile was fired from North Korea. Please evacuate to a sturdy building or basement”. Loud alarm systems and public address systems were also utilised warning citizens to take cover.
On Friday morning, The Australian confirmed the United States of American had sent four of its most advanced jet fighters, the F-35B stealth fighters, and a pair of B-1B bombers to the Korean Peninsula, to take part in bombing drills alongside Japanese and South Korean jets, as a show of force in direct response to Kim Jong-un’s provocation.
The US Air Force Pacific Command, which confirmed the maneuvers, said it was the first time the F-35B jets had been used in such a mission with the B-1B bombers in unison.
