Tensions between the two nations are rising (Picture: Reuters)
Japan has flicked the switch on its missile interceptors as the country readies to shoot down North Korea‘s first spy satellite rocket.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told the Japanese military on Saturday to make the ‘necessary preparations’ to do so.
He said that Self-Defense Forces should get ready for Hamada to potentially ‘order the destruction of ballistic missiles’.
Troops would be scrambled along the southern prefecture of Okinawa and nearby islands, believed to be on the satellite’s fight plan, to ‘minimise damage should a ballistic missile fall’.
Japan has a few ways to do this, the statement added.
This includes ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missiles and Aegis-equipped destroyer warships carrying sea-based Standard Missile-3 interceptor projectiles.
Yasukazu Hamada urged the military to take all ‘necessary precautions’ (Picture: Yoshio Tsunoda/AFLO/Shutterstock)
‘We are making the necessary preparations because of the possibility of issuing an order to destroy ballistic missiles and other objects,’ the ministry said.
In the meantime, Japanese forces have been told to be on the alert for any debris falling into Japanese territory.
While the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has given the thumbs up for the use of missiles.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered officials to launch the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite, state media the Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) reported on Wednesday.
It also released grainy black-and-white images of the South Korean capital Seoul, which is believed to be from the satellite.
Visiting the country’s space agency, the National Aerospace Development Administration, on Tuesday, Kim asked officials to ensure the launch goes without a hitch.
The North Korean dictator made the visit with his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, believed to be 11 (Picture: Getty Images)
He also asked for more reconnaissance satellites to be launched, though the KCNA report did not say when the launch this week or future ones would happen.
Kim stressed how important such crafts are to protect national security amid what he said were growing threats from South Korea and the US.
Military reconnaissance satellites are ‘indispensable’, Kim said, calling them a ‘right to national sovereignty and self-defence’, KCNA reported.
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‘We are making the necessary preparations.’