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Japanese public broadcaster incorrectly reports North Korea missile launch

Japan's NHK issued an apology saying the error was a media training alert and was 'not true.'

WASHINGTON — Japan's public broadcaster NHK issued an apology Friday after it sent out a news alert that incorrectly stated North Korea had launched a missile, Reuters reports. In the bulletin, the public was told that a missile from North Korea had fallen into the ocean east of Japan. 

Pyongyang had issued a warning earlier this month of a possible "Christmas gift" for Washington if there were not new concessions made in talks over North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un gave the United States until the end of the year, and the "Christmas gift" for Washington was taken, by experts, to mean a possible long-range missile test.

The bulletin issued by NHK shortly after midnight on its website read, “North Korean missile seen as having fallen into seas about 2,000 km east of Hokkaido’s Cape Erimo,” which suggested a flight path over Japan.  

Shortly after NHK issued a statement saying, “we apologize to our viewers and the public,” Reuters reported

Credit: AP
A smartphone shows Tuesday's NHK television's news website saying "North Korea appears to have fired a missile," "The government: Seek shelter inside buildings and basements," second from top, in Tokyo Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The Japan's public broadcaster mistakenly sent an alert on Tuesday warning citizens of a North Korean missile launch and urging them to seek immediate shelter, then minutes later corrected it, top, days after a similar error in Hawaii. The message at top reads: "The flash of North Korea's missile launch was a mistake." (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

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One of the mandates for publicly funded broadcaster is warning the country about security threats. In 2017 North Korea launched missiles that flew over Japan's Cape Erimo and warnings were spread on millions of mobile phones across Japan. As Reuters noted, NHK also sent an alert in error regarding a North Korean missile launch in January of 2018.

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