North Korea developing advanced warheads to penetrate Japan’s defence system, says Tokyo

Japanese defence minister says rockets fired in latest test followed an ‘irregular’ trajectory, likely designed to make them harder to intercept

North Korea appears to be developing sophisticated new warheads designed to penetrate Japan’s ballistic missile shield, Tokyo has said.

The warning came as the UK, France and Germany issued a joint statement warning Kim Jong-un’s regime over recent “repeated provocative launches”, which the three said were in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea fired two more short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Saturday, the seventh such test in a month.

And Japan’s defence minister, Takeshi Iwaya, said analysis showed the rockets were a new type of missile which followed irregular trajectories.

Japan and the US have Aegis destroyers deployed in the Sea of Japan, armed with interceptor missiles designed to destroy warheads in the air. Japan also plans to build two land-based Aegis batteries to bolster its ballistic missile shield.

Those defence systems, however, are designed to counter projectiles on regular – and therefore predictable – trajectories, and any variation in flight path would make interception trickier.

South Korea’s defence ministry said it was working with the US to conduct a detailed analysis of the latest North Korean launches.

Yet despite the tests stoking growing alarm among American allies in the region, Donald Trump appeared to dismiss them as unimportant in comments made on Sunday – even as he met Shinzo ​Abe, the Japanese prime minister.

“I’m not happy about it, but then again he’s not in violation of an agreement,” Mr Trump said, apparently referring to commitments – made by Mr Kim during their leaders’ summits – not to conduct any more nuclear or long-range missile tests.

Without naming Mr Trump, the statement late on Tuesday from America’s key European allies showed that they do not agree.

After the UN Security Council discussed the launches behind closed doors, the UK, France and Germany said that it was “vital that the Security Council shows unity in upholding its resolutions”.

“International sanctions must remain in place and be fully and strictly enforced until North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes are dismantled,” the statement read.

The European countries blamed Mr Kim’s regime for the “current dire situation of its people” and stressed that making progress on denuclearisation was the only way to guarantee “a brighter future for the people of North Korea”.

North Korean state media said the country’s leader oversaw Saturday’s test personally, and that it involved a “newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher”.

The apparent boast of Pyongyang’s growing arsenal came at a time of strained relations between Japan and South Korea, at odds over historical abuse claims and a modern-day trade dispute.

Experts have warned that the pair’s failure to renew an intelligence-sharing agreement late last week could hurt their preparedness when it comes to dealing with North Korean missile threats.