TOKYO: North Korea has issued formal notice of a satellite launch as early as Wednesday, Japan said, with Pyongyang’s third attempt to be in the sky coming after it possibly received technical advice from Russia in exchange for arms transfers.
North Korea’s previous efforts to send a spy satellite into orbit in May and August both failed, and Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo have repeatedly warned Pyongyang not to proceed with another launch, which would violate many rounds of UN resolutions, according to AFP news agency.
But North Korea has vowed to go ahead anyway, and Seoul’s spy agency this month warned the fresh attempt is expected to be more successful as Pyongyang appears to have received technical help from Russia in return for sending at least ten shipments of weapons for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Japan’s coast guard on Tuesday shared a notification on its website of a launch window between 22 November and 1 December, and Seoul’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries quickly issued a navigation warning for ships.
Japan PM’s Strategy
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told journalists that he would demand the cancellation of the launch and to make efforts to prepare for unpredictable situations.
He added that any use of ballistic missile technology by North Korea would represent a breach of UN resolutions and that Tokyo was coordinating its response with South Korea and the US, its partners, in a trilateral defense arrangement.
Seoul has warned for weeks that the North was in the “final stages” of preparation for another spy satellite launch, with Defense Minister Shin Won-sik stating on Sunday that the lift-off could take place as early as this week.
