ASIA PIVOT: North Korean missile lands perilously close to Japan.

If confirmed, this would constitute the first time a North Korean missile had landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone on the Sea of Japan side of the island chain. In 1998, North Korea fired a Taepodong-1 missile over Japan and into its economic zone on the Pacific Ocean side.

Wednesday’s actions were the latest apparent protest from North Korea over a decision by Seoul and Washington to bring an anti-missile battery system to South Korea.

The medium-range Rodong missile splashed down inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, within 125 miles of the country’s northeast coast, Japan’s Defense Ministry said.

In flight time, that meant the missile was only 20 or 30 seconds from Japan itself, said Euan Graham, who served as a British diplomat in Pyongyang.

“It’s a clear case of walking right up to the line and just putting a nose over it,” said Graham, now an East Asian security expert at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney. “It’s a provocative act.”

Firing missiles at your neighbors doesn’t seem like the best way to dissuade your neighbors from installing antimissile systems.