Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered Japan's Self-Defense Forces Saturday to be at higher readiness for the possibility of a North Korean rocket falling over Japanese territory, with one set to be launched carrying Pyongyang's first reconnaissance satellite.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his country's space agency to make final preparations for the satellite's launch, its state media reported earlier this week, although the precise schedule was not mentioned.
The SDF will work to deploy ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missiles and Aegis-equipped destroyer warships carrying sea-based Standard Missile-3 interceptor projectiles, government sources said.
Japan is considering stationing the PAC-3 system to the Nansei Islands, stretching southwest from Kyushu toward Taiwan. It was previously deployed on the same islands in 2012 and 2016, the sources said.
The PAC-3 is designed to shoot down approaching missiles that evade sea-based interceptors fired from the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyers.
"We will make preparations to be able to respond to any circumstance that could cause damage to Japan," one of the sources said.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency also said on Wednesday that Kim had ordered the deployment of "several reconnaissance satellites" in the future and said that "possessing and operating military reconnaissance means" is important in the face of strengthening U.S.-South Korea ties.
"If (North Korea) uses technology associated with ballistic missiles to launch a so-called satellite, it will be a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a press conference following the KCNA report.
The order by Japan's Defense Ministry comes ahead of a summit next week between U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Washington, where the two are slated to discuss measures against North Korea's missile and nuclear threats.
In December, KCNA reported that North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration said it will complete preparations for its first military reconnaissance satellite by April 2023.
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