The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will bring forward its planned rocket launch to as early as Sunday, Japanese officials said Saturday, adding in a later press briefing that necessary defense measures were being carried out.
According to government sources here, Pyongyang, who has been strongly urged by Japan to refrain from launching what it has said is an earth observation satellite, will step up the launch date, initially slated for sometime between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25, to sometime between Sunday and Feb. 14.
Japan has maintained that such a launch would be in clear violation of UN resolutions, adding that it would continue to work closely with the United States to strongly demand that the DPRK refrains from its planned launch.
Defense ministry personnel said Saturday evening that they believe the launch window, set between 7 a.m. and noon Pyongyang time, would remain unchanged, with weather conditions possibly determining the exact day and time of the launch.
"Despite the change of plan, we will take appropriate measures to secure the safety of the people under any circumstance," Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told a press briefing late Saturday, adding that there was no change to the possible areas of Japan's territory that might be affected.
He also said that the ministry aims to complete by Sunday morning the deployment of Maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyers equipped with antiballistic missiles and ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the DPRK's plans were a provocative act that threatens Japan's national security and along with the U.S. and South Korea, his government would step up pressure on the DPRK to abandon its planned launch.
The DPRK initially said that it plans to launch a rocket carrying an earth observation satellite with Pyongyang making the notification to the UN's London-based International Maritime Organization IMO) last week.
The government here said Saturday that the IMO has received information from Pyongyang about its planned reschedule to launch its rocket.
Japan and the U.S., among other nations, however, believe the DPRK is still planning to test a long-range ballistic missile, with the imminent test coming on the heels of the DPRK conducting a fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, which may lead to the UN Security Council slapping fresh sanctions on Pyongyang.
The DPRK is banned from test-firing any rockets based on a ballistic missile technology under UN Security Council resolutions.
Discussions on the matter are still underway, with some stakeholders calling for the resumption of six-party talks, stalled since 2008, which involve South Korea, the DPRK, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
The potential launch has rattled the nerves of the defense ministry here, which has unrolled anti-missile interceptors on both land and sea to shoot down any inbound rocket or missile headed towards Japan's territory.
Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani has said that his ministry has ramped up intelligence gathering operations pertaining to the situation, and has strongly indicated that any rocket or missile launched from the DPRK headed towards Japanese territory would be ordered to be shot down.
Nakatani reiterated Saturday that Japan is fully poised for any rocket or missile tests by the DPRK.
He said that the defense ministry will be fully prepared by Sunday morning with its full deployment of Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) Aegis destroyers equipped with antiballistic missiles and ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors.
The defense ministry here has confirmed that Patriot Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, surface-to-air missile systems have been deployed at more than 30 locations in and around Tokyo.
In addition, the MSDF's Force's Aegis destroyers, equipped with the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor systems, have also been deployed in the Sea of Japan and surrounding waters.
Nakatani held director-level defense talks between Japan, the United States and South Korea on Friday, during which information about the launch situation was discussed, the defense ministry here said, again restating its complete preparedness for any eventuality.
He said that Japan, the United States and South Korea are closely working together to continually analyze information.
Japan has also set up and tested an early warning system to inform local municipalities around the nation when a missile or rocket is launched, so that locations that may be at risk of falling debris from the rocket or missile can react or be evacuated accordingly.
A senior defense ministry official was quoted by local sources as saying Saturday, however, that despite intelligence confirming the final stages of launch preparation at the site in Pyongyang were well underway if not completed,"There is no guarantee that it will launch during the notified period."
The official added in the latest statement from the defense ministry here"It's hard to say in advance when the launch will take place, given that a previous missile test in 2012 was carried out just two days after the schedule was postponed."
