Aug. 30 (UPI) -- When North Korea test-fired a missile toward Japan early Tuesday morning, many sleeping residents experienced a very unusual, jarring awakening.
People on Hokkaido, Japan's second-largest island, were rattled by an urgent warning and sirens. The sirens went off at about 6 a.m. Tuesday. The missile was launched three minutes earlier, South Korea's military said.
The missile, believed to be a Hwasong-12 armament, ultimately splashed into the Pacific Ocean.
On Hokkaido and elsewhere, Japanese residents heard the sirens and received a J-Alert, a national government-run warning system.
"A missile has apparently been launched from North Korea. Please take refuge in a sturdy building or underground," the alert said.
Some residents, not knowing whether the alert signaled a real and imminent danger, said they were unnerved by the event.
"I had no idea where to go. I was confused, and a bit lost," a Hokkaido resident said.
Some residents captured the alarm on video and posted them to social media.
Following the missile test, President Donald Trump responded by saying "all options are on the table" for Pyongyang's "threatening and destabilizing actions."
