Japan’s coastguard said on Monday that North Korea has informed them of plans to launch what it calls a satellite in the next weeks.
According to a tweet from the prime minister’s office that mentions a “ballistic missile that it (Pyongyang) describes as a satellite,” Japanese authorities anticipate the launch would entail a ballistic missile.
According to a coastguard official who spoke to AFP, Pyongyang has alerted Japan’s coastguard that a missile would be fired between May 31 and June 11 and will land in seas close to the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and east of Luzon Island in the Philippines.
The prime minister’s office said in a tweet that Kishida gave orders “on North Korea’s notification about the launch of a ballistic missile that it describes as a satellite”.
The post also said that he had instructed authorities to collect information, exercise caution, and closely communicate with allies, such as the United States and South Korea.
In recent months, Pyongyang has increased the number of missile launches, some of which have set off emergency alert systems in certain areas of Japan.
During this time, Seoul and Tokyo have been attempting to repair their long-broken relations, notably by cooperating more on North Korea’s military threats.