North Korea has notified Japan it plans to launch a rocket carrying a satellite between May 27 and June 4, the Japan Coast Guard said on Monday, drawing a swift warning from Seoul and Tokyo not to go ahead with what they called an illegal move.
The South Korean government said later the North had issued a notice of a military reconnaissance satellite launch. If successful, it would be Pyongyang’s second spy satellite in orbit.
The officials agreed to demand that North Korea cancel the planned launch, the ministry said in an email.
South Korea said separately that the “so-called military reconnaissance satellite launch” would be a provocative act and a serious threat to regional security.
“Our military will be taking measures that show our strong capabilities and will,” South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Sung-jun said at a news briefing, without elaborating.
Later, the Joint Chiefs said about 20 aircraft, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, conducted attack drills in airspace south of the no-fly zone along the inter-Korean border.
The North Korean notice included navigational warnings for areas in the Yellow Sea and east of Luzon Island in the Philippines, the Japanese coast guard said, where stages of the rocket are planned to drop.
North Korea launched its first military spy satellite in November, putting it in orbit after two earlier failed attempts in 2023.
Later, the Joint Chiefs said about 20 aircraft, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, conducted attack drills in airspace south of the no-fly zone along the inter-Korean border.
The North Korean notice included navigational warnings for areas in the Yellow Sea and east of Luzon Island in the Philippines, the Japanese coast guard said, where stages of the rocket are planned to drop.
North Korea launched its first military spy satellite in November, putting it in orbit after two earlier failed attempts in 2023.
