Sirens blared in Hokkaido, evacuation warning for N. Korea missile was not a mistake

The Japanese government said the emergency evacuation warning it issued and later retracted against residents of the northern island of Hokkaido after a North Korean missile launch on Thursday morning was appropriate and not an error.

"We did not correct the information issued by the J-Alert" emergency broadcasting system, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North Korean missile was launched at a lofted angle on Thursday from a location near the capital Pyongyang at 7:23am (22:23 GMT on Wednesday).

"Evacuate immediately. Evacuate immediately," read the initial warning from the Japanese government ... though the Japanese Coast Guard later said the missile had already crashed into the sea.