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.
He said the North Korean missile disappeared from Japan's radar immediately after detection, and a further analysis found that there was no possibility of its landing in Japan's territory, leading to the lifting of the evacuation warning.
"The J-Alert warning was issued to inform citizens of the danger of a falling missile to prioritize citizens' safety," Matsuno said.
The United States "strongly condemns" North Korea for its test of a long-range ballistic missile, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday. "The door has not closed on diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its destabilizing actions and instead choose diplomatic engagement," National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.