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The Japanese government on Monday condemned the firing by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, yet also called for restraint, stating that the act was both provocative and in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
Japan's top government spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, at a regular press conference described the launches as an act of provocation but called for increased restraint from the DPRK.
Suga also said that Tokyo had lodged a protest to the launches with Pyongyang.
The Japanese government earlier on Monday said it believed the missiles were launched at around 12:13 p.m. local time from a site on the DPRK's west coast.
The Defense Ministry here, having confirmed the launches, said the missiles flew for around 1,000 km before all three of them fell into the Sea of Japan, within what Japan believes to be its exclusive economic zone.
The government said that it has along with Japan's coast guard been gathering information as to whether any vessels or aircraft in the region along the projectiles' flight paths and landing spots in the Sea of Japan had been damaged, but confirmed that it had received no reports of damage or injury as a result of the missiles.
The DPRK has recently voiced its opposition to the joint military drills conducted by the United States and South Korea in the region, which concluded last Friday, with the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise comprising some 25,000 U.S. troops.
The DPRK also stands opposed to the U.S. and South Korea deciding to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea to counter perceived threats.
The spate of recent launches, government officials here have said, have also been a show of defiance against UN Security Council resolutions slapped on the DPRK for its ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile technology programs, which are banned under the council's resolutions.
Monday's launches forced Japan's new Defense Minister Tomomi Inada to cancel a scheduled visit to a local Ground Self-Defense Force base in Tokyo in the afternoon, to address the situation.
Inada told a press briefing Monday that the DPRK's capabilities are "definitely improving" as all three missiles were fired simultaneously and landed in the same area in the Sea of Japan.
Her remarks follow the Aug. 24 launch by the DPRK of a submarine-launched ballistic missile.
(APD)
