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

TOKYO — North Korea on Monday, May 29, 2023, notified neighboring Japan that it plans to launch a satellite in coming days, which may be an attempt to put Pyongyang’s first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit.

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

Japan’s 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.

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.”

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

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.

Japan has already been on standby for falling missile debris from North Korean launches earlier this year and has deployed missile defense systems such as PAC-3 and ship-to-air interceptors in southwestern Japan.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he instructed officials to do their utmost to gather and analyze information related to the launch and inform people about it, his office said.

Earlier this month, North Korean state media reported leader Kim Jong Un had inspected a finished military spy satellite at his country’s aerospace center and approved the satellite’s launch plan. Monday’s launch notice did not specify the type of satellite. /