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    North Korea notifies Japan it plans to launch satellite in coming days

    TOKYO (AP) – North Korea yesterday notified Japan that it plans to launch a satellite in coming days, which may be an attempt to put its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit.

    Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada said he ordered Japan’s Self Defence Force to shoot down the satellite or debris, if any entered Japanese territory.

    Japan’s coast guard said the notice it received from North Korean waterway authorities said the launch window was from May 31 to June 11, and that the launch may affect waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of the Philippines’ Luzon Island.

    The coast guard issued a safety warning for ships in the area on those dates because of the possible risks from falling debris. Japan’s coast guard coordinates and distributes maritime safety information in East Asia, which is likely the reason it was the recipient of North Korea’s notice.

    To launch a satellite into space, North Korea would have to use long-range missile technology banned by United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions. Its past launches of Earth observation satellites were seen as disguised missile tests.

    A TV screen shows an image of a North Korea’s rocket launch during a news programme. PHOTO: AP

    Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the launch would violate UN resolutions and was a “threat to the peace and safety of Japan, the region and the international community.”

    Japan was already on standby for falling missile debris from North Korean launches earlier this year and has deployed missile defence systems such as land-to-air PAC-3 and ship-to-air SM-3 interceptors in southwestern Japan and in the East China Sea. Matsuno said it was possible the satellite would enter or pass above Japan’s southwestern islands including Okinawa, where the United States has major military bases and thousands of troops.

    South Korea warned yesterday that North Korea will face consequences if it goes ahead with its launch plan in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions that ban the North from conducting any launch using ballistic technology.

    “Our government strongly warns North Korea against a provocation that threatens peace in the region and urges it to withdraw its illegal launch plan immediately,” a ministry statement said. It said South Korea will cooperate with the international community to resolutely cope with any North Korean provocation.

    In a three-way telephone conversation yesterday, the chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to cooperate to help promote a unified, resolute international response to a North Korean satellite launch. They strongly urged North Korea to refrain from what they termed “an illegal launch” that would threaten regional peace, according to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. Japan issued a similar statement.

    China, North Korea’s chief ally, renewed its call for a political settlement of tensions in response to the launch announcement.

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