The Federal Aviation Administration stopped every plane from taking off or landing at all West Coast airports for seven minutes after North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea off Japan.
Monday’s incident, known as a full ground stop, was confirmed by officials at San Diego Airport. No explanation was given, but it happened around the same time as the North Korean missile launch, which is not believed to have struck any known target.
The stop only lasted for seven minutes, according to officials at San Diego International Airport.
A spokesperson for the airport said they got the instruction of a national ground stop around 2:30 p.m. pacific time (5:30 p.m. eastern).
‘We really don’t have any more details,’ Sabrina LoPiccolo said, adding that no reason was given for the stop.
The FAA has not responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment as of Tuesday morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a full ground stop Monday at all west coast United States airports for seven minutes
Ground stops can be specific to airports or an entire region and are related to either weather, equipment outages or extreme events
Under an FAA ground stop, flights scheduled to land at an airport are forced to stay at their departure points.
Ground stops can be specific to airports or an entire region and are related to either weather, equipment outages or extreme events.
Both South Korea and Japan’s military said North Korea launched a missile early Tuesday morning local time, the second such launch by the hermit kingdom in under a week.
No details are available of how far the projectile flew and no details have been made public of the launch.
Both the United States and South Korean militaries are investigating, while Guam’s office of homeland security said they were monitoring the launch but said there was no threat to the American territory in the south pacific.
People watch a TV showing an image of North Korea’s missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, January 6
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has previously said that he plans to increase the nation’s military power
North Korea previously gloated that it successfully launched a hypersonic missile last week.
Hypersonic weapons are able to fly at speeds in excess of five times the speed of sound, better known as Mach 5.
South Korea claimed the projectile was a ballistic missile and were unsure of where the north had gotten such technology.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un said prior to the launch at a key political gathering that he would boost the nation’s military might.
Kim had famously tried to make nice with ex-President Donald Trump in an attempt to ease sanctions in exchange for giving up nuclear power.
North Korea has rejected offers to meet with the Biden administration in its first year, citing sanctions and joint military drills by United States and South Korean forces.