North Korea to launch satellite rocket between Nov 22 and Dec 1, says Japan
North Korea to launch satellite rocket between Nov 22 and Dec 1, says Japan
North Korea has notified Japan that it plans to launch a rocket satellite into space between Wednesday (Nov 22) to Friday (Dec 1) in the direction of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, said Japan's coast guard.
The latest development comes despite South Korea issuing a warning to Pyongyang to immediately halt its preparations to fire a spy satellite into space which would be Pyongyang's third attempt this year.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed government ministries and agencies to fully prepare for a possible North Korean launch, said Tokyo's Kyodo news agency citing the PM's office.
Earlier this month, Seoul's spy agency said that Pyongyang was in its definitive phase of preparations for another effort to launch its spy satellite.
"We sternly warn North Korea to... immediately suspend the current preparations to launch a military spy satellite," Kang Ho-pil, chief director of operations at the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday.
"If North Korea goes ahead with the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite despite our warning, our military will take necessary measures to guarantee the lives and safety of the people."
This comes after Pyongyang's failed attempt to launch the spy satellite in August this year.
The United Nations Security Council has adopted many resolutions urging North Korea to stop its nuclear and ballistic projectile programmes since it conducted a nuclear test in 2016 for the very first time.
Russia and North Korea's connection
South Korea had earlier released a statement saying that Pyongyang, in exchange for Moscow's space technology, was providing it with arms and ammunition.
As per analysts, there is a noteworthy technical overlap between space launch abilities and the development of ballistic projectiles.
After a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin had suggested that his country could help Pyongyang build satellites.
(With inputs from agencies)