Japan is worried that North Korea seems to be developing a capability to perform saturation attacks in which many missiles are fired quickly, making it difficult to intercept them.

On Sunday morning, North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles from multiple sites toward the Sea of Japan in quick succession, according to the South Korean military.

The Japanese government believes that Pyongyang’s latest move poses a more serious threat to the security of Japan than past missile launches, officials said.

Sunday’s launches “may have been aimed at improving the successive launch capability needed for saturation attacks,” Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters.

“We’ll work harder to drastically strengthen our defense capabilities, including so-called enemy base strike capabilities and counterstrike capabilities,” he added.

The launches “violate U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters during his visit to Katsurao, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. “We strongly denounce (North Korea).”

Kishida referred to a meeting of vice minister-class diplomats of Japan, the United States and South Korea in Seoul slated for Wednesday.

“We’ll work with the United States and South Korea closely and do our utmost to collect information and engage in warning and surveillance,” he said. “We’ll do all we can to secure the peace and safety of our country.”

When the missiles were fired, Kishida was on a Shinkansen bullet train on his way to Fukushima. He gave instructions to relevant government agencies from the train.

After arriving at JR Koriyama Station in the prefecture, Kishida telephoned Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and told him to take steps to ensure the safety of the nation. In line with the instruction, Matsuno dealt with the situation at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo.

The government protested to North Korea via embassy channels in Beijing.

Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, phoned Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea, and Kim Gunn, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs.

The three officials shared a view that Sunday’s launches clearly pose a serious challenge to the international community.

JIJI Press