North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Thursday (April 13th), triggering a brief alert in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido whose inhabitants were asked to take shelter as a precaution.

"Evacuate immediately. Evacuate immediately," the Japanese government ordered in a message, urging Hokkaido residents to take refuge in buildings or underground and estimating that the missile would fall around 8:00 am (23:00 GMT).

Japanese coast guards and local officials in Hokkaido, however, said soon after that there was no danger.

"After confirmation of the information, there is no possibility of the missile falling on Hokkaido or nearby areas," the mayor of the city of Asahikawa in Hokkaido said, citing the national government's emergency network.

The Japanese coast guard said the projectile fell on Japanese territory "is no longer a possibility."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that "North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile toward the East Sea," the Korean name for the Sea of Japan, without providing further details.

Pyongyang has stepped up weapons tests in recent months, raising tensions with Seoul and Washington, which have strengthened military cooperation and conducted extensive joint maneuvers in the region.

"Radioactive tsunami"

On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for increasing his country's deterrence capabilities to counter "the escalation of maneuvers by US imperialists and traitors, South Korean puppets to unleash a war of aggression," according to the official KCNA news agency.

Since March 23, Pyongyang has claimed to have conducted three tests of an underwater nuclear attack drone capable of "producing a large-scale radioactive tsunami".

The North Korean regime also said it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on March 16.

Last year, North Korea declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear power, burying any negotiations on the country's denuclearization.

And in March, Kim Jong Un ordered his troops to intensify their drills in preparation for a "real war." Washington and Seoul responded with new joint military maneuvers, involving US stealth aircraft.

Pyongyang sees the drills as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory and on Tuesday called them "hysterical" exercises, "simulating all-out war against" North Korea.

South Korea has also called North Korea "irresponsible" after Pyongyang cut off communications with Seoul last week.

The North and South militaries communicate twice a day through a specific line, but North Korea has not responded to calls since April 7, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry.

(with AFP)

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