Japan has issued a warning to North Korea that it will take "destructive measures" against any ballistic missile confirmed to have entered its territory, following news of Pyongyang's plans to launch a "satellite" in late May or early June. The North Korean space development agency had unveiled plans last year to launch a reconnaissance satellite by April 2023, but Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, accused the regime of disguising the launch site in a manner that would breach UN Security Council resolutions and constitute a "serious provocation" of the region. Tokyo is deploying Patriot missile defense batteries and Aegis destroyers with ballistic missile defense capabilities around the Nansei Islands secondary to the latest news, and has called on North Korea to exercise restraint, while urging the US and South Korea to collaborate with its government in averting any subsequent missile launches.
The Japanese Coast Guard announced that the notification of the launch date came via an email from Pyongyang, which states it plans to launch the satellite toward the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and east of Luzon in the Philippines, an area beyond Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone. Okinawa, Japan's largest island in the Nansei chain, hosts the key military bases of the United States.
South Korea's National Security Council has also called an emergency meeting, saying that the launch would be a "serious violation" of several UN Security Council resolutions. The South Korean Foreign Ministry has called on North Korea to withdraw its plan, saying it was an "obvious illegal act".
The threat has come as a surprise, as North Korea halted its 2017 nuclear missile tests to seek sanctions relief, as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida emphasied that any missile launch by North Korea, no matter how it is presented, is a "significant issue that affects the safety of Japanese citizens" and called for talks with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.