Tokyo. – Japan’s defense minister on Saturday ordered troops to activate interceptor missiles and prepare to drop fragments of a North Korean satellite that could land on Japanese soil.
North Korean President Kim Jong Un said a few days ago that the first military spy satellite will be launched on an unspecified date.
North Korea has tested about 100 missiles since early last year, saying it was responding to joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea that are seen as a test of the invasion. Many of its missiles have flown over Japan or landed on the country’s northern coast.
Last week, North Korea launched a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time as a test.
On Saturday, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered troops to equip PAC-3 surface-to-air missiles in southwestern Japan, including Okinawa and other nearby islands, in an area believed to be under the flight path of a North Korean missile that will carry the missile. Satellites.
It also ordered the deployment of destroyers equipped with SM-3 missiles from an air ship to coastal waters, according to the ministry’s statement.
“We are making the necessary preparations for a possible order to destroy ballistic missiles and other things,” the ministry said.
North Korea is expected to test more weapons as the United States and South Korea continue their joint air exercises next week.