Japan military on alert over North Korea’s planned rocket launch

Japan placed its military on alert on Wednesday to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it threatens Japan, while South Korea warned the North will pay a “severe price” if it proceeds with a satellite launch that Seoul considers a missile test. North Korea should immediately call off the planned launch, which is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the South’s presidential Blue House said in a statement. Seoul’s warning came after the North notified U.N. agencies on Tuesday of its plan to launch what it called an “earth observation satellite” some time between Feb. 8 and 25.

North Korea’s notice of the plan to launch a long-range missile, coming at a time when there is a discussion for Security Council sanctions on its fourth nuclear test, is a direct challenge to the international community.

Seoul statement

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would work with the United States and others to “strongly demand” that North Korea refrain from what he described as a planned missile launch. Japan’s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani ordered ballistic missile defence units including Aegis destroyers in the Sea of Japan and Patriot missile batteries onshore to be ready to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatened Japan. The rocket is likely to fly over Japan’s southern island of Okinawa in the Pacific Ocean at an altitude of several hundred kilometres. China – a long-time ally – and the US have also expressed concern about the proposed launch.

North Korea