North Korea has staged a series of recent missile tests with increasing range, part of a program that aims to eventually build long-range nuclear missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland. In early August, another Rodong missile fired by North Korea also traveled about 1,000 kilometers, the longest-ever flight by that missile. "All three were launched almost simultaneously and fell around the same spot, which shows North Korea's missile capability has been steadily improving," Inada said, expressing serious concern. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called the launches a "serious threat" to Japanese security and said that Tokyo protested to North Korea via the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. The U.N. Security Council in late August strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August.

Source: ABC News September 05, 2016 06:40 UTC