North Korea alerted neighboring Japan on Monday that it intends to launch a satellite in the coming days, which could be Pyongyang’s first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit. The coast guard of Japan stated that the launch window was between May 31 and June 11, and that the launch might affect waterways in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and east of the Philippines’ Luzon Island. Because of the potential of falling debris, Japan’s coast guard issued a safety alert for ships in the vicinity on those days. Japan’s coast guard coordinates and transmits marine safety information throughout East Asia, which is presumably why it received North Korea’s alert. North Korea would have to deploy long-range missile technology, which is prohibited by U.N. Security Council resolutions, to send a satellite into space. Previous launches of Earth monitoring satellites were seen as covert missile tests.
Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, said the launch would violate United Nations resolutions and pose a “threat to the peace and safety of Japan, the region, and the international community.” Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada directed Japan’s Self-Defense Force to fire down any satellite or debris that landed on Japanese soil. According to Matsuno, the satellite may enter or fly above Japan’s southwestern islands, including Okinawa, where the US has important military bases and thousands of troops. Japan has previously prepared for the possibility of falling missile debris from North Korean launches earlier this year, and has deployed missile defense systems such as PAC-3 and ship-to-air interceptors in southern Japan. According to his office, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has directed officials to do everything possible to obtain and evaluate information regarding the launch and to notify the public about it.
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