North Korea has informed Japan that it plans to launch a satellite in the coming days, Japanese officials said Monday, saying the project would involve launching a ballistic missile.
Japan’s coast guard said the warning from North Korea’s maritime authorities is for the period from May 31 to June 11 and that the launch could affect the waters of the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and the east of the island of Luzon, in the Philippines.
For this reason, the Japanese authorities have already issued a security alert for ships transiting the affected maritime area.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office said on Twitter that it had given instructions regarding “North Korea’s notification of the launch of a ballistic missile described as a satellite.”
Kishida instructed authorities to do everything possible to collect and analyze information related to the launch, and called for vigilance and cooperation with Japan’s allies, namely the United States and South Korea.
Pyongyang said earlier this month that the first military spy satellite was ready to launch. This launch would imply the use of technology prohibited by United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Source: TSF
