N. Korea's Projectile Falls Into Waters West Of S. Korea's Island Of Eocheong - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st May, 2023) The North Korean projectile that was launched early on Wednesday fell into waters some 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of the South Korean island of Eocheong, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing the South Korean military.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier in the day that Pyongyang had launched what was believed to be a "space launch vehicle" southward. The Japan Coast Guard later said that the North Korean "ballistic missile" was believed to have already fallen.

North Korea's projectile disappeared from radars before reaching an expected drop point, Yonhap reported, citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. Sources told the media that the South Korean military was analyzing the possibility that the projectile exploded midair or crashed.

Following the launch, residents of Seoul received notifications on their phones urging them "to prepare for evacuation and to prepare to evacuate children, the elderly, and the weak first," a Sputnik correspondent reported. The air raid alert was also sounded on loudspeakers across Seoul. The South Korean Ministry of the Interior and Safety later said in another message, sent to residents' phones, that the alert had been declared by mistake.

An evacuation order was also briefly declared in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa, with residents receiving notifications on their phones and local media broadcasting the message, but was later revoked, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

Japan convened a meeting of the national security council due to "the situation threatening the security of Japan," Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

Seven flights have been delayed in Japan against the background of the declared air raid alert, and 24 more flights have been canceled due to a strong typhoon approaching Okinawa Prefecture, NHK reported.

On Monday, North Korea reportedly informed Japan and the International Maritime Organization that it planned to launch a reconnaissance satellite between May 31 and June 11. Debris from the rocket is expected to fall outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, in the Yellow Sea, southwest of North Korea, and in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, off the Philippines. The US, Japan and South Korea held phone talks over Pyongyang's plan to put a satellite into orbit. Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered to shoot down the rocket if it poses a threat to the country's territory.