Japan readies missile defenses
March 23, 2012
"I have ordered officials to prepare to deploy the PAC-3 and Aegis warships," Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka told reporters, referring to surface-to-air missiles and destroyers carrying missiles.
It was thought Japan would order the rocket shot down if it passed through Japanese airspace. The surface-to-air interceptors will reportedly be placed in the southern island chain of Okinawa.
North Korea said it would conduct the launch mid-April to put a satellite into orbit. It was timed to coincide with the centenary of the birth of the country's founder, Kim Il Sung.
Japan, the United States and South Korea all view the rocket launch as a pretext for a long-range missile test banned by the United Nations and have warned of repercussions should it go ahead.
"If they go ahead anyway, we will want to work with our allies and partners for a strong response," Gary Samore, arms control coordinator at the US National Security Council, told South Korea's Yonhap news agency in an interview.
The Philippines, meanwhile, has asked for US assistance in helping it track the rocket, part of which is expected to land off the archipelago.
The North Korean launch looks set to overshadow a nuclear security summit in the South Korean capital, Seoul, beginning March 26. The meeting is to be attended by over 50 heads of state and government, including US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Ban said he would raise the rocket launch at the summit. He added that if Pyongyang went ahead with the move it could jeopardize international aid and worsen the North's already ominous humanitarian situation.
"Such an act would undermine recent positive diplomatic progress and, in its effect on international donors, would likely worsen the humanitarian situation inside the country," he said in a speech in Singapore.
dfm/ng (AFP, dpa)