Arab News Japan 

TOKYO: After North Korea launched what is believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile that soared over Japan on Tuesday, Rahm Emanuel, the United States Ambassador to Japan, issued a statement calling the launch “reckless.”

“Today’s reckless and destabilizing missile launch by North Korea only serves to fortify the firm U.S.-Japan efforts to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Rahm said in the statement. “In immediate response to Pyongyang’s threatening actions, the United States and Japan are coordinating at the highest levels.”

U.S. President Joe Biden planned to talk with Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio about the missile launch and what action to take, while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister HAYASHI Yoshimasa, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and National Security Secretariat Secretary General AKIBA Takeo also conferred.

“This is a demonstration of the seriousness with which we view North Korea’s provocations,” Rahm said. “And a clear signal that the United States and Japan are fully committed to defending the stability and security of the region.”