A Japan Golf Tour event was suspended early on Friday when North Korea (officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK) launched a ballistic missile which was thought to fly over Japanese territory.
Aussie Matt Griffin tweeted about the unique reason for stopping play at the ANA Open at Saporro Golf Club.
Well this is a first. We currently have a suspension of play in Sapporo Japan due to North Korea launching ballistic missiles 😳
— Matt Griffin (@MattGriffinGolf) September 14, 2017
Sapporo, which is a 90-minute flight due north of the Japanese capital of Tokyo, is playing host to the ￥110 million ($1.055 million) event. It's unclear where the missile was launched, which Japanese territory it flew over or where it landed. The stoppage in play appears to be out of an abundance of caution.
North Korea has been particularly aggressive in launching missiles in 2017, perhaps trying to provoke the United States, South Korea and Japan into military action against the regime. There is thought the North Korean military may be able to deliver a long-distance nuclear warhead in a far-reaching missile in 2018.
