Japan missile defenses on alert, North Korea warns of satellite launch

Japan put its ballistic missile defense system on alert on Monday and warned it would shoot down any projectiles threatening its territory after North Korea notified Japan of the satellite launch between May 31 and June 11.

North Korea, which has nuclear weapons, says it has fully Its first military spy satellite and leader Kim Jong Un have approved final preparations for the launch.

“The government recognizes that the satellite may pass through our territory,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a regular briefing. North Korea notified the Japan Coast Guard of the launch plan.

Japan’s defense ministry order is the first response to North Korea’s space launch since 2016, with Japan April It sent a destroyer carrying a Standard Missile-3 interceptor, which can hit targets in space, to the East China Sea, and land-based PAC-3 missiles, designed to hit warheads closer to the ground, were fired at the Okinawa Islands.

Japan wants North Korea to launch a rocket carrying its satellite over the southwestern island chain as it did in Japan 2016said a Ministry of Defense spokesman.

North Korean state media has criticized plans by its rivals South Korea, the United States and Japan to share real-time data on missile launches, saying the three were discussing “sinister measures” to strengthen military cooperation.

Analysts say the satellite is part of a plan for surveillance technology, including drones, aimed at improving its ability to strike targets in the event of war.

Kim Jong-un inspected a military satellite facility in May, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

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

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that any missile launch by North Korea would be a serious violation of a UN Security Council resolution condemning its nuclear and missile activities.

“We strongly urge North Korea not to launch,” his office said in a tweet, adding that it would work with U.S. ally South Korea and other countries and would do everything in its power to gather and analyze information on any launch.