Japan puts ballistic missile defences on alert after North Korea's satellite launch warning

Japan has warned to destroy and shoot down any projectile that threatened its territory after North Korea informed it of a satellite launch between 31 May and 11 June.

Japan has also put its ballistic missile defences on alert as it sounded warning to Kim Jong Un.

“We will take destructive measures against ballistic and other missiles that are confirmed to land in our territory,” Japan’s defence ministry said in a statement.

Nuclear-armed North Korea has said that it has already completed its first military spy satellite and its leader (Kim Jong Un) has approved final preparations for a launch to place it in orbit.

A report by the North’s KCNA state news agency, Kim has in May inspected a military satellite facility.

‘Violation of UNSC resolution’

North Korea’s plan to put a satellite into orbit — the country’s first space rocket launch in more than seven years — has drawn flak.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “Any missile launch by North Korea, even if it is called a ‘satellite,’ is a serious violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and a serious problem for the safety of people.”

Japan ‘strongly urges’ N. Korea to exercise restraint

Kishida further said that Japan had “strongly urged” North Korea to exercise restraint and refrain from carrying out the launch. He further said that Tokyo was cooperating with the US, South Korea and other countries on the issue.

Japan government’s top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, told media that the North Korean authorities have notified Japan Coast Guard of the launch plans via email.

He said the launch could fly over Okinawa Prefecture’s Nansei Island chain or other parts of Japan, a move he characterised as a “serious provocation.”

A notice on the Japan Coast Guard website also warned of a launch over the same time period for a broad swath of ocean, including three areas where objects could be expected to fall — two in the Yellow Sea to the west of the Korean Peninsula and one spot east of the Philippines’ Luzon Island.

Japan on alert

The defence ministry of Japan has said it would use its Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) or Patriot Missile PAC-3 to destroy a North Korean missile.

The ministry’s spokesperson said that Japan expects North Korea to fire the rocket carrying its satellite over the southwest island chain as it did in 2016.

A report by Reuters quoted analysts saying that the satellite is part of a surveillance technology programme, that includes drones, meant to improve its ability to strike targets in the event of war.

In recent months, North Korea has conducted a series of missile launches and weapons tests, including a new, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

With inputs from agencies