North Korea notified the Japanese government of its plan to launch a satellite in the early morning of the 27th, the day the Korea-China-Japan summit is held.
According to Kyodo News and others, the Japan Coast Guard announced that North Korea plans to launch a rocket carrying a satellite between that day and June 4 at 0:00, and notified three maritime hazard zones, issuing navigation warnings for these areas. The expected drop zones are three in total: two in the southwestern West Sea off North Korea and one in the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines, all outside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in response to North Korea's satellite launch notification, instructed relevant departments to ▲thoroughly collect and analyze information, ▲strongly urge North Korea to halt the launch in cooperation with the United States, South Korea, and others, and ▲establish a full readiness posture to prepare for unforeseen situations.
The three countries?South Korea, the United States, and Japan?immediately held a telephone consultation. They also confirmed that any launch using ballistic missile technology violates United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions regardless of purpose and demanded North Korea to stop.
Notably, North Korea's notification of the satellite launch came just before the 9th Korea-China-Japan summit held in Seoul, attended by President Yoon Suk-yeol, Prime Minister Kishida, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. As discussions on North Korea's nuclear and missile threats are expected at this meeting, analysts interpret North Korea's move as an attempt to draw a line once again between the Korea-US-Japan bloc and the North China-Russia bloc. Some also evaluate it as a check against China amid the deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia.
Meanwhile, North Korea has previously announced its plan to launch three military reconnaissance satellites in 2024.
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