Japan and North Korea

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he was willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, seeking a diplomatic path as tensions soar over Pyongyang's weapons programs.

Kishida reiterates the public offer at the UN General Assembly days after his government publicly announced his willingness for a summit.

In a speech from the UN rostrum, Kishida said that Japan was willing to resolve all issues with North Korea -- including Pyongyang's past kidnappings of Japanese civilians to train its spies. — AFP

Japan orders its military Saturday to prepare to shoot down a North Korean ballistic missile after Pyongyang says this week it was ready to launch its first military spy satellite.

Placing the satellite into orbit would require a long-range projectile, which North Korea is banned from launching as the United Nations views such exercises as tests of ballistic missile technology.

On Saturday, Japanese minister Yasukazu Hamada tells the country's Self-Defense Forces "there is a possibility of ordering destructive measures against ballistic missiles and others", according to a statement from the ministry of defense. — AFP

Prime Minister Kishida says North Korean missile did not fall in Japanese territory. — AFP

North Korea denounces Japan's new security strategy, calling it a "serious" threat against international peace that "fundamentally changed" the regional security environment and warned of "actual action" in response.

Japan outlined plans last week to drastically expand its defence capabilities over the next five years -- including counterstrike capability -- in response to threats from China and nuclear-armed North Korea.

"Japan is creating a serious security crisis... by adopting the new security strategy that effectively formalises the possession of preemptive strike capabilities against other countries," says the North's foreign ministry spokesperson in a statement.

"The formalisation of Japan's new line of aggression has fundamentally changed the security environment in East Asia," says the statement, which was carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). — AFP

A suspected intercontinental ballistic missile launched by North Korea on Friday is believed to have fallen in Japan's exclusive economic waters, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says.

Kishida called the launch "absolutely unacceptable", saying there had been no reports of damage to ships or aircraft.

"The ballistic missile launched by North Korea is believed to have landed in our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) west of Hokkaido," Kishida tells reporters in Bangkok, where he is attending a regional summit.

The EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles from Japan's coastline, beyond the limits of its territorial waters. The Japanese defence ministry had earlier said the missile was "ICBM-class".

It was North Korea's second launch in two days, as the isolated state continues a record-breaking blitz that has sent fears of a nuclear test soaring. — AFP

A North Korean missile did not fly over Japan on Thursday, despite authorities issuing warnings to residents in several areas, the country's defence minister says.

Early on Thursday, the country's J-Alert system was activated and residents in the northern Miyagi, Niigata and Yamagata regions were sent warnings to take shelter or stay indoors, with television stations breaking into regular programming to share the news.

The prime minister's office initially said a missile flew over Japan at around 7:48 am (2248 GMT Wednesday), but the country's defence minister subsequently said the alert had been issued in error.

"The missile was detected as having the potential to fly over the Japanese archipelago, so the J-Alert was issued," Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada tells reporters.

"After checking this information, we confirmed that the missile did not cross the Japanese archipelago, but disappeared over the Sea of Japan."

"We're analysing the reason" it disappeared, he adds. — AFP

North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan towards the Pacific, the Japanese government says.

The missile travelled above the nation at around 7:48 am (2248 GMT), the prime minister's office says in a tweet, as television broadcasters broke into programming to urge residents in some areas to take shelter or stay indoors. — AFP

The US Indo-Pacific Command condemns North Korea's missile launch over Japan on Tuesday, saying that Washington's "commitments to the defense of Japan and (South Korea) remain ironclad." 

"The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to refrain from further unlawful and destabilizing acts," it says in a statement issued on Monday, local time, using the official abbreviation for North Korea. — AFP

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says Japan condemned the launch of a North Korean ballistic missile believed to have flown over the country,

"A ballistic missile is believed to have passed over our country and fallen in the Pacific Ocean. This is an act of violence following recent repeated launches of ballistic missiles. We strongly condemn this," Kishida tells reporters. — AFP

North Korea fired a mid-range ballistic missile Tuesday which flew over Japan, Seoul and Tokyo say, a significant escalation as Pyongyang ramps up its record-breaking weapons-testing blitz.

The last time North Korea fired a missile over Japan was reportedly in 2017, at the height of a period of "fire and fury" when Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong Un traded insults with then-US president Donald Trump.

South Korea's military says it had "detected one suspected medium-range ballistic missile that was launched from Mupyong-ri area of Jagang Province at around 7:23 am (22:23 GMT) today and passed over Japan in the eastern direction."

In a statement, the Joint Chiefs of Staff says the military was "maintaining a full readiness posture and closely cooperating with the United States while strengthening surveillance and vigilance". — AFP

The badly decomposed remains of seven people have been found in a suspected North Korean fishing boat that washed up on a Japanese island, a coast guard official said Sunday.

The remains were found on Saturday in a broken vessel on the shore of Sado Island, which lies around 900 kilometres (560 miles) from North Korea across the Sea of Japan.

"Five of the bodies were identified as men but the remaining two could not be identified" as they were badly damaged, the official told AFP.

"There have been similar cases but this was the first discovery of bodies in such a wrecked boat on this island this year," the official added.

Korean alphabet and numbers were painted on the wooden hull, which was broken in half, he said, adding that there was nothing to show their nationality.

Local media said Japanese police and coast guard are investigating the case, suspecting the vessel departed from North Korea. -- AFP

North Korea's state media has slammed Japan for its recent trade restrictions against Seoul over wartime slavery disputes, accusing Tokyo of "destroying the trend of peace" on the Korean peninsula.

After South Korea's high court ordered Japanese firms that used forced labour to compensate Korean victims, Tokyo earlier this month restricted the export of several chemicals to South Korea that are crucial to its world-leading chip and smartphone companies. 

South Korea's left-leaning President Moon Jae-in, who favours engagement with Pyongyang, has said Tokyo's actions are "politically motivated" and have caused an "unprecedented emergency" for Seoul's export-driven economy. 

North Korea has repeatedly warned the South to stop "meddling" in nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington, but sided with Seoul for its trade row with Tokyo. — AFP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has offered to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "unconditionally" in a bid to restore diplomatic ties between the two historic foes, a daily says.

Abe, seen as a foreign policy hawk, has recently softened his rhetoric towards Pyongyang, calling for a summit with Kim to resolve an emotional row over past kidnappings of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang agents. — AFP

Japan has dropped the push to apply "maximum pressure" on North Korea from its official foreign policy, an apparent softening of Tokyo's position as major powers engage with Pyongyang.

In last year's "Diplomatic Bluebook", published when tensions on the Korean peninsula were soaring, Japan says it was coordinating efforts with its allies to "maximise pressure on North Korea by all available means."

But this language was dropped from this year's edition, drawn up after diplomats had "taken comprehensively into account the latest developments surrounding North Korea", according to chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga. — AFP

Japan has dropped the push to apply "maximum pressure" on North Korea from its official foreign policy, an apparent softening of Tokyo's position as major powers engage with Pyongyang.

In last year's "Diplomatic Bluebook", published when tensions on the Korean peninsula were soaring, Japan says it was coordinating efforts with its allies to "maximise pressure on North Korea by all available means."

But this language was dropped from this year's edition, drawn up after diplomats had "taken comprehensively into account the latest developments surrounding North Korea", according to chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga. — AFP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he was willing to meet Kim Jong Un after the once reclusive leader's historic summit with US President Donald Trump. — AFP

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on October 4, 2022. North Korea fired a mid-range ballistic missile on October 4, which flew over Japan, Seoul and Tokyo said, a significant escalation as Pyongyang ramps up its record-breaking weapons-testing blitz.

Photo courtesy of AFP / Jung Yeon-Je