Japan put its military on alert yesterday to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatens it.
North Korea on Tuesday notified UN agencies of its plan to launch what it called an “Earth observation satellite” some time between Monday and Feb. 25.
“We have defenses ready to deal with all threats, but in view of the announcement, I have put the [Japan] Self Defense Force’s Aegis destroyers and our PAC-3 units on alert and issued an order to shoot down any ballistic missile threat,” Japanese Minister of Defense General Nakatani said at a news conference.
Photo: EPA
South Korea said the North should immediately call off the launch, which is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, the South’s presidential Blue House said in a statement.
“North Korea’s notice of the plan to launch a long-range missile, coming at a time when there is a discussion for Security Council sanctions on its fourth nuclear test, is a direct challenge to the international community,” the Blue House said.
“We strongly warn that the North will pay a severe price ... if it goes ahead with the long-range missile launch plan,” it said.
“We are extremely concerned about this,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) said at a news conference.
In Washington, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel said that a launch that uses ballistic missile technology would be another violation of a UN ban and strengthens the argument for the international community to impose “real consequences” on North Korea for destabilizing behavior.
Russel said that a launch “would be an unmistakable slap in the face to those who argue that you just need to show patience and dialogue with the North Koreans, but not sanctions,” in an apparent reference to China.
North Korea said the launch would be conducted in the morning one day during the announced period, and notified the coordinates for the locations where the rocket boosters and the cover for the payload would drop.
Those locations are expected to be in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula and in the Pacific Ocean to the east of the Philippines, Pyongyang said.
Additional reporting by AP
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