South Korea said North Korea fired another ballistic missile into the sea on Thursday. (file)
Tokyo:
Japan’s government urged residents of Hokkaido to take shelter on Thursday morning after a North Korean missile launch, but local officials later said the missile would not land near the northern region.
Asking Hokkaido residents to take shelter in a building or underground, the government said in an early warning, “Evacuate immediately. Evacuate immediately.”
The warning said the missile was expected to land at 8:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT).
But soon, the city of Asahikawa in Hokkaido tweeted that there was no longer any concern about the threat.
“After verifying the information, there is no possibility that the missile will fall in Hokkaido or the surrounding areas,” the account said, citing the national government’s emergency network.
Japan’s coast guard said the missile was believed to have landed.
It did not give exact details of where, but said there is “no chance now” that it will fall near Hokkaido.
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