Tokyo’s defense ministry announced Monday that Tokyo would order the shooting down of a North Korean rocket if its territory was threatened
As North Korea prepares to launch a military spy satellite in the coming weeks, Japan’s defense ministry warned on Monday that it will take “Disruptive measures” against any shells threatening its territory.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unveiled the country’s first reconnaissance satellite earlier this month and notified the Japanese Coast Guard on Monday that it would launch the spacecraft in the East China Sea.
Japan’s defense ministry said in a statement on Monday that the air defense unit had been given permission to “Destructive measures against ballistic and other missiles confirmed to have landed on our territory.” According to the statement, Japanese forces will use American SM-3 or Patriot missiles to shoot down North Korean rockets if necessary.
Japan currently has a destroyer equipped with SM-3 interceptors stationed in the East China Sea and a Patriot battery stationed in the Okinawa Islands. A defense ministry spokesman told reporters the rocket would likely fly over the islands after launch, as it did when North Korea launched an Earth-observation satellite into space in 2016.
Japanese, South Korean and U.S. officials have all called on Kim to call off the launch, arguing that it violated U.N. Security Council resolutions on Pyongyang’s missile program. Since space-launched rockets and ballistic missiles share a high level of technology, these resolutions apply to both.
Kim, who is unlikely to heed the warnings, described the launch as “The government’s priority is to strengthen our defense capabilities.” Pyongyang insists that surveillance satellites, ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons are all necessary to protect North Korea from an aggressive U.S. military posture on its border.
The U.S. and South Korean militaries have conducted various training exercises in recent months, including their largest live-fire exercise last week, a simulated “All-Out Attack” By the power of gold. North Korea claims the drills — which the U.S. and South Korea call defensive exercises — are rehearsals for an invasion and typically respond with missile launches or artillery drills.
North Korea has tested more than 100 missiles since the start of 2022, and in April tested its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile and a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone. Officials in Washington and Seoul have claimed since last year that Pyongyang is preparing for a seventh underground nuclear weapons test.
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