N. Korean missile tests spook neighbors, but 'what to do?'

YOKOSUKA, Japan -- North Korea's flurry of missile launches -- 20 of them in the past year -- is a new and alarming fact of life for Japan and its other neighbors.

But Pyongyang's recent demonstrations of its capacity to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles, while worrying, are drawing shrugs from many in the region who reckon there's not much anyone can do about them.

"We have no idea when and where (a missile) would strike. Honestly, I don't think there is any way to prepare for it," Akira Fukatsu, a 65-year-old retiree, said as he sat drinking a beer on a bench in a park overlooking a U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo. "We're simply unlucky if one strikes here."

Many Japanese, South Koreans and Chinese appear to share that sense of resignation over North Korea's apparent newfound capacity to launch missiles capable of reaching much of the continental United States.

The July 4 firing of a Hwasong-14 ICBM, its first test, and another last weekend suggest major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago are within range of North Korean weapons.

Many Japanese have mixed feelings about the latest developments, viewing them as a sign North Korea's aggression is directed toward the U.S. rather than Japan, even if test launches have splashed down off Japan's coast.

"Japan was within range of North Korean missiles even before their range extended recently," said Tetsuharu Nagashima, an official in charge of emergency response in Yokosuka.

Living just across the Demilitarized Zone from North Korea, South Koreans are famously laid back about its displays of military might. But some South Koreans are starting to question whether North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles may have become bigger problems than anyone wants to admit.

"South Koreans have been too relaxed," said Yang Seung-jun, noting missile launches show North Korea could attack the South at any time. "It's our choice to laugh it off and say, 'North Korea can't do that,' or the 'United Nations will sanction them' ... but war never happens when we expect it to," he said.