On August 3, 2016, North Korea fired an intermediate range ballistic missile into Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Sea of Japan. According to a press source, the missile landed within 155 miles of the Japanese coast, the closest a North Korean missile has come to Japan since 1998. U.S. Strategic Command reported that the missile was one of two “No Dong” missiles fired near the city of Hwangju; the other exploded shortly after launch. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the missile launch, stating, “That it landed in our nation’s E.E.Z. makes it an intolerable act of recklessness.” South Korea also condemned the launch, calling it a “grave provocative act not only toward the ROK but also toward its neighboring countries and the international community.” The missile launch contravenes a number of Security Council Resolutions, including Resolution 2270, and the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration of 2002, in which North Korea “expressed its intention that . . . it would further maintain [a] moratorium on missile launching in and after 2003.” Wednesday’s launch follows previous missile tests by North Korea in February, March, June, and July of 2016. In July, the U.S. and South Korea announced plans to deploy an American missile defense system known as the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery, or “Thaad.” The system is meant to defend South Korea and U.S. troops stationed on the peninsula. It has drawn criticism from Russia, China, and North Korea.