Is North Korea preparing a nuclear test? Missile over Japan has experts perplexed

In what appears to be a deliberate attempt to get Washington and Tokyo's attention, North Korea has fired a missile over Japan - the fifth launch by the country over the past ten days.

According to Aljazeera, the ballistic missile traveled around 4,500 km (2,800-2,850 miles) at a maximum altitude of 1,000km (620 miles, which is higher than the International Space Station, before falling into the Pacific Ocean. This is the longest distance ever covered by a North Korean missile.

The BBC reported that had the missile traveled the same distance on a different trajectory, it could have hit the US island territory of Guam, which is located 3,380 kilometers (2,100 miles) from North Korea.

It is the first time North Korea has launched a missile over Japan in five years; the last instance occurred in 2017.

When the missile was detected by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Japanese coast guard, residents of northern Japan were urged to take shelter as the rarely used warning sirens were sounded.

Had the test failed and the missile fell short of its target, millions in Japan could have died. CNN reported that the missile flew over the Tohoku region of Japan.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno (pictured) told the press that this area of the country is home to over eight million people.

The United Nations has forbidden North Korea from testing nuclear weapons and ballistics. In addition, this act is particularly provocative since international norms dictate that if missiles are launched towards or over other countries, a pre-warning or consultation must be issued.

In addition, unannounced launches are a risk to aircraft and ships that have received no prior warning to avoid the area used for testing.

CNN reported that when North Korea tests missiles, they are normally fired off the Korean Peninsula, making officials wonder about North Korea's intentions with this launch.

Experts are not sure why North Korea chose to launch this missile over Japan at this time. Some suspect that the launch may be related to the fact that Japan, the US, and South Korea have been working together to strengthen their defenses due to the growing threat posed by the North.

Robert Ward, a senior fellow for Japanese Security Studies, told CNN he believes "North Korea may be trying to exploit the unstable international situation, which it will see as a tailwind," referring to Russia to the north of Japan and China to its south.

Whereas Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at CNS, told CNN that North Korea may just "have their own schedule … and I don't think that we have a lot of impact on the timing."

Unsurprisingly, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was unhappy with North Korea's actions. The BBC reported that the Japanese prime minister said the launch was "violent behavior."

Defense minister Yasukazu Hamada (pictured left) added that Japan would not rule out strengthening its defenses, including "counterattack capabilities."

According to a statement from the presidential office, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol warned of a resolute response following the launch.

Yoon's office issued a statement saying, "(The NSC) made it clear that continued North Korean provocations cannot be tolerated and that there would be a price to be paid."

The South Korean president also said that Seoul would prepare a variety of deterrence measures against North Korea and strengthen sanctions against the country.

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said that North Korea's actions were "destabilizing" and that they show the country has a "blatant disregard for United Nations Security Council resolutions and international safety norms."

Earlier this year, Kim Jong-Un vowed to develop North Korea's nuclear arms at the "highest possible" speed.

Aljazeera reported that some experts believe Jong-Un hopes to "use his enlarged arsenal to pressure Washington to accept his country as a nuclear state."

Other analysts believe the launch over Japan on October 4 is part of that push for weapons advancement and that North Korea is preparing the ground for a nuclear test. The last time the country performed a nuclear test was in September 2017.

Aljazeera also reported that South Korean officials have suspicions that North Korea plans to conduct a nuclear test following the end of the Congress in China, right before the mid-term election in the United States in November.