Alertness was raised in Japan and South Korea when reports first came in that North Korea had launched a rocket, on Wednesday evening Norwegian time.

Then both countries withdrew the emergency and evacuation notices. Now the mayor of Soul, Oh Se-hoon, apologized for the confusion surrounding the emergency alarm, according to Reuters.

The mayor said that although the emergency call turned out to be an overreaction, it was not done by accident, the news agency wrote.

Asked to apply for coverage

The background to the alarm was North Korea, which said that, as planned, they were launching a reconnaissance satellite. An error occurred during the launch that caused the rocket to hit the water, wrote Reuters.

Residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa were told to seek shelter after North Korea allegedly launched a ballistic missile late Tuesday Norwegian time.

Japanese authorities say they believe satellite is the code word for the rocket. Because of that they were worried that the satellite could become a ballistic missile. The alarm was raised after about half an hour.

The head of government in Japan, Hirokazu Matsuno, condemned the launch, and authorities called the rocket a provocation.

The United States lashed out

The United States also condemned the incident, wrote Reuters.

– The US condemns North Korea for its launch of ballistic missile technology. Biden and his national security team are assessing the North Korea situation in close collaboration with allies and partners, said a statement from the White House, according to Reuters.

At the same time, they reported that they had not ruled out diplomacy with North Korea, but that the country must stop what they called provocative actions and choose dialogue and cooperation.