"North Korea's ICBM may have a range of more than 15,000 kilometers..."Robbery escalating tensions"

"North Korean missile, flight distance of 1,000km, maximum altitude of 7,000km"

Defense Force "86 minutes of flight time...More than 15,000 km may be held on the

th at the NSC..."North Korea launches missile, escalates tensions"

Ishiba to speed up solidarity and cooperation with neighboring countries

[Anchor]
The Japanese government is paying close attention to the possibility of further provocations, criticizing the North's ballistic missile as a riot that escalates international tensions, saying it could have a range of more than 15,000 kilometers.

Prime Minister Ishiba's position has become unstable due to the ruling party's crushing election defeat, and his diplomatic ability to respond to North Korea has also been put to the test.

Correspondent Kim Se-ho's report from Tokyo.

[Reporter]
The Japanese government says the ballistic missile launched by North Korea is an ICBM class with a flight distance of 1,000 kilometers and a maximum altitude of 7,000 kilometers.

The flight time was estimated to be 86 minutes, but it raised the possibility of a new missile.

[Ken Nakatani / Japan Defense Minister: It's the longest flying missile ever, and I think it's different from the existing one]

Immediately after North Korea's launch, the National Security Council (NSC) was held at the prime minister's residence to discuss countermeasures.

He then criticized North Korea's launch as unacceptable, saying it was a riot that raised tensions in the international community.

[Yoshimasa Hayashi / Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary: A series of actions by North Korea, including repeated launches of ballistic missiles, have threatened peace and security in Japan, the region, and the international community, and are unacceptable.]

Prime Minister Ishiba, who has emphasized strengthening defense capabilities, is expected to speed up solidarity and cooperation with neighboring countries as North Korea provokes for the first time since taking office.

We are coordinating the China-Japan summit on the occasion of the APEC summit, and if it is completed, the North Korean issue is expected to be a major agenda item.

However, it is unclear how much power Prime Minister Ishiba's voice will be given as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party failed to win a majority in the last general election.

It is not certain whether he will be able to remain prime minister in the special parliamentary nomination election on the 11th, and even if he is nominated again as prime minister, he has to rely heavily on the cooperation of the opposition.

It is pointed out that this situation is increasing uncertainty in Japanese diplomacy.

The instability of the domestic political base and the fluid external security environment after the U.S. presidential election are expected to test Prime Minister Ishiba's diplomatic capabilities.

I'm Kim Se-ho from YTN in Tokyo.