The Japanese defense minister has ordered his military to destroy any North Korean missile that enters Japanese territory or heads for it. He was responding to an announcement from Pyongyang earlier today that North Korea will launch a “satellite” in the next two weeks. The launch is scheduled between May 31 and June 11, according to Pyongyang.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday that North Korea’s launch of any missile, “even if it’s called a satellite,” violates a UN Security Council resolution. The Japanese think that it is actually a ballistic missile launch. The prime minister’s office on Monday spoke of “North Korea’s announcement about launching a ballistic missile described as a satellite.”
Kishida has directed his intelligence agency to find information about the launch, and said it is in talks with the United States and South Korea on the matter. Along with those two and other countries, North Korea will be urged to refrain from launching missiles, Kishida’s cabinet announced via Twitter. The Japanese prime minister urged the relevant ministries and agencies to cooperate, collect intelligence and remain vigilant.
Pyongyang has increased the number of missile launches even further in recent months. Some of those launches triggered an alarm system in Japan.
Seoul and Tokyo have been trying to get closer to each other for several weeks now. Relations between the two countries are still haunted by the brutal Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945, but Japan and South Korea are trying to turn the page and join forces against North Korea’s military threat.
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