Japan aims to destroy any North Korean missile after it warns of a satellite launch

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan aims and prepares to destroy any North Korean missile that violates its territory, the Defense Ministry said on Monday, after North Korea informed Japan of a plan to launch a satellite between May. 31 and 11 June.

Nuclear-armed North Korea said it has completed its first military spy satellite and leader Kim Jong Un has approved final preparations for its launch into orbit.

Analysts say that the presence of a military satellite will enhance North Korea’s ability to monitor and improve its ability to strike targets in the event of war.

“We will take destructive measures against ballistic missiles and other missiles that have been confirmed to have landed on our territory,” the Japanese Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it would use a Standard-3 (SM-3) missile or a Patriot PAC-3 missile to destroy a North Korean missile.

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

A coast guard official told Reuters that North Korea had informed the Japanese coast guard of the planned launch between May 31 and June 11, confirming a report by public broadcaster NHK and other media.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Hirokazu Matsuno, said that any launch by North Korea, even if it was described as a satellite launch, affects the safety of Japanese citizens.

“The government is aware that there is a possibility that the satellite may pass through the territory of our country,” he said at a press conference.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that any missile launch from the northern Koran would be a serious violation of the UN Security Council resolution.

“We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from the launch,” the prime minister’s office said earlier on Twitter, adding that it would cooperate “with relevant countries such as the United States and South Korea.”

She said Japan, a staunch US ally, would do everything it could to collect and analyze information from the launch.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a military satellite facility in May, North Korean Central News Agency reported.

North Korean media earlier criticized plans by South Korea, the United States and Japan to share real-time data on their missile launches, describing the three as discussing “vicious measures” to closer military cooperation.

Additional reporting by Hyunsoo Yim in Seoul, Nobuhiro Kubo, Elaine Lies and Satoshi Sugiyama in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Jo Min Park in Seoul and David Dolan in Tokyo; Editing by Diane Craft and Howard Goller

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