North Korea notifies neighboring Japan it plans to launch satellite in coming days
By MARI YAMAGUCHI and HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) — North Korea has told neighboring Japan it plans to launch a satellite in coming days, which may be an attempt to put a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit. Japan’s defense minister says he ordered the military to shoot down the satellite or debris, if any entered Japanese territory. The notice gave a launch window of between May 31 and June 11. It said it may affect waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of the Philippines’ Luzon Island. It said earlier this month its first military spy satellite is ready for launch. North Korea’s past launches have demonstrated an ability to deliver a satellite into space, but there are questions about the satellite’s capability.
