DPRK warns Japan of plans to launch satellite from May 27-June 4
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Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that Japan's Defense Ministry and self-defense forces were positioned to shoot down the rocket.
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This photo provided by the DPRK's government shows the launch of the Malligyong-1, satellite, into orbit on November 21, 2023. (AP)
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has warned Japan of plans to launch a satellite from May 27 to June 4, the Japan Coast Guard said today.
In a statement, Japan's Coast Guard said "The launch of the rocket with the satellite is planned from 00:00 on May 27 [15:00 GMT on May 26] to 00:00 on June 4."
Rocket stages are predicted to fall outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, the statement added.
Japan opposes satellite launch
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the relevant ministers to gather information, promptly give it to the population, and then jointly demand with the United States and South Korea that the DPRK not launch the satellite, the NHK broadcaster said.
Simultaneously, senior diplomats from Japan, South Korea, and the US had a phone conversation, during which they labeled the launch of the reconnaissance satellite as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions which prohibit the DPRK from launching rockets using ballistic missile technology, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
In an opening statement, Kishida said "North Korea has again warned about the satellite launch. If it conducts the launch, it will be a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions, and we strongly demand that the launch be stopped. Today, I would like to seize the opportunity to strengthen mutual understanding between the three countries on the global situation, primarily around North Korea, and to strengthen the international order."
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi also said that Japan's Defense Ministry and self-defense forces were positioned to shoot down the rocket.
In a news conference, he said, "The satellite launch deadline is already in effect, so the defense ministry and the self-defense forces, based on the Defense Minister's [Minoru Kihara] order to shoot down [the rocket], have taken the right position."
DPRK began reconnaissance satellite operations last year
Following the successful launch of its first military satellite in November, the DPRK began surveillance satellite operations in December, according to the state news agency.
The new satellite operations office at the Pyongyang General Control Center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) began operations on December 2 and reports acquired data to the army's reconnaissance bureau and other major units, KCNA said on December 3.
The DPRK issued a warning on December 2, stating that it would "destroy" US spy satellites in response to any potential attack on its recently launched military satellite.
A spokesperson for the DPRK's Defense Ministry indicated that any potential attack on the satellite would be regarded as a "declaration of war," as the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.
The statement was issued in response to a remark by a US official, where Washington suggested that it "could deny an adversary's space and counter-space capabilities... using a variety of reversible and irreversible means," about the DPRK's successful spy satellite launch in late November.
