Japan has threatened to shoot down any projectile posing a risk to its territory after North Korea signalled its intention to launch its first military reconnaissance satellite within the next two weeks.
Japan’s defence ministry said on Monday that it had put its ballistic missile defences on alert and was preparing “destructive measures” after Pyongyang made a rare notification through the International Maritime Organization of a satellite launch planned between May 31 and June 11.
North Korea last month claimed to have completed work on its first-ever military reconnaissance satellite, as leader Kim Jong Un develops the breadth and sophistication of his country’s weapons programmes.
An operational spy satellite would strengthen North Korea’s ability to conduct a pre-emptive strike as well as monitor potential incoming threats from the US and South Korea.
Kim visited North Korea’s space agency earlier this month to approve launch plans for the satellite. During the visit, which coincided with the US and South Korea conducting large-scale air drills, he claimed the reconnaissance satellite programme was defensive in nature.
Kim said North Korea would “exercise its sovereignty and just right to self-defence” in response to “confrontational moves” from Washington and Seoul, state media reported at the time.
North Korea has previously launched two satellites successfully, the last in 2016, which it said were for “earth observation” operations.
Japan’s defence ministry on Monday warned that it would use its Standard Missile-3 or Patriot Missile PAC-3 to shoot down a North Korean missile or debris if it entered Japanese territory. The launch trajectory could cover waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of Luzon island in the Philippines.
The US, Japan and South Korea maintain that any satellite launch using ballistic missile technology would violate several UN Security Council resolutions proscribing Pyongyang’s ballistic missile tests.
In a joint statement, the nuclear envoys of the three countries warned that if North Korea “presses ahead with the launch, there will be a stern, unified response from the international community”.
North Korea in October fired a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time since 2017, sparking emergency public alerts. Last month, a North Korean missile triggered an evacuation order on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida said the satellite launch would violate UN Security Council resolutions. “Even if it is labelled as a satellite, we consider a launch using ballistic missile technology . . . as a grave issue for public safety,” he said.
Kishida added that he was prepared to meet Kim in person, and said Tokyo would work closely with Washington and Seoul to address tensions with Pyongyang.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed earlier this month that Tokyo and Seoul were working to share real-time data on North Korean missile launches through the US, their mutual ally.
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