Just before the trilateral summit between South Korea, China, and Japan on the 27th, North Korea informed the Japanese government of its plans to launch a satellite.
According to Kyodo News and NHK, Japan’s Cabinet Office revealed that North Korea has announced its intention to launch a rocket carrying a satellite between today and the 4th of next month. Consequently, they have established three maritime hazard zones in response to this plan.
The hazard zones include two locations in the southwest sea of North Korea and one in the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines, all of which are outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
In response, the Japan Coast Guard has issued navigation warnings for the three sea areas from midnight local time today until noon on the 4th of next month, advising ships to be cautious of falling debris.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has ordered relevant departments to be fully prepared for information collection and analysis in response to North Korea’s satellite launch notification. He urged them to strongly request a halt to the launch in cooperation with the United States and South Korea and to maintain an entire readiness posture in case of unforeseen circumstances.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense has deployed Self-Defense Forces missile intercept units in preparation for a situation where ballistic missiles and satellites launched from North Korea fall into Japanese territory.
Officials from South Korea, the United States, and Japan have confirmed that during a phone call, they requested North Korea to halt its planned launch. They argue that using ballistic missile technology for any purpose violates United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Most Commented