Kim Jong Un issues alert on military satellite launch as leaders of Japan, South Korea, China meet in Seoul

As Chinese Premier Li Qiang met leaders of Japan and South Korea in a trilateral meeting in Seoul, North Korea told Japan that it was going to launch a satellite by June 4.

Japanese media on Monday (May 27), while citing the country's coastguard, reported on the development after South Korea said that the North was preparing to put another military spy satellite into orbit.

The Japanese coastguard said the eight-day launch window began at midnight on Sunday into Monday. North Korea’s notice has designated three maritime danger zones near the Korean peninsula and the Philippine island of Luzon where the satellite-carrying rocket’s debris might fall, according to the Kyodo news agency.

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Kyodo news agency further reported that the officials from Washington, Tokyo and Seoul agreed in a phone call to urge Pyongyang to suspend the plan. The three sides cited United Nations resolutions that wouldpurportedly be violated if Pyongyang used ballistic missile technology — which it often does.

North Korea's satellite programme

Kim Jong-Un's North Korea launched its first reconnaissance satellite in November last year. The United States had denounced it as a "brazen violation" of the UN sanctions.

What does it mean?

Experts cited by the Japanese media point out that these spy satellites are meant to improve Pyongyang’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, particularly over South Korea in the event of a potential military conflict.

Seoul said last week that South Korean and United States intelligence authorities were "closely monitoring and tracking" presumed preparations for the launch of another military reconnaissance satellite.

Seoul claimed that North Korea received technical help from Russia for its satellite launch last year in exchange for sending Moscow weapons for use in the war in Ukraine.

As top leaders of Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo meet in South Korea for their first summit in nearly five years, it remains to be seen if North Korea's military belligerence is put on the table for discussion or not.