A series of recent missile tests has added new urgency to Japan’s debate about how it can defend itself from Pyongyang’s increasingly sophisticated arsenal.
Even before Tuesday’s claimed test of a missile with intercontinental range, North Korea had fired a rocket in May that reached an altitude of more than 2,000km before plunging into the Sea of Japan at a speed of more than 5km a second.
Meanwhile in late June, Japan and the US tested their new, jointly developed Aegis SM-3 Block 2A interceptor, designed to protect against exactly such a threat. The interceptor failed; the missile got through.
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