North Korean missiles during a military parade (archive)
north korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said earlier this week that the first military spy satellite will be launched on an unspecified date.
On Saturday, the Japanese Defense Minister ordered his country’s forces to activate interceptor missiles and prepare to drop shrapnel from a North Korean satellite that might fall on Japanese territory. Any order to launch missiles must be approved by the Japanese prime minister.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said earlier this week that the first military spy satellite will be launched on an unspecified date.
A previous North Korean missile test
North Korea has test-fired about 100 missiles since early last year, saying it was responding to joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which it described as an exercise in invading the country.
Many of the missiles flew over Japan or landed off the northern Japanese coast.
Last week, North Korea test-fired a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.
On Saturday, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada instructed troops to equip PAC-3 surface-to-air missiles in southwestern Japan, including Okinawa and nearby islands, in an area believed to be under the flight path of a North Korean missile that will carry the satellite.
He also ordered the deployment of destroyers equipped with SM-3 surface-to-air missiles in coastal waters, according to the ministry’s statement.
The ministry said: “We are making the necessary preparations for the possibility of issuing an order to destroy ballistic missiles and other things.”
North Korea is expected to conduct more weapons tests as the United States and South Korea continue their joint air exercises next week.
