Prime Minister Naoto Kan instructed the Cabinet on Friday to stay in Tokyo from Saturday to Wednesday to be on the alert for North Korean provocations during a joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea.

The drill, scheduled to start Sunday in the Yellow Sea, follows on the heels of North Korea's deadly artillery attack Tuesday on a South Korean island.

To prepare for any contingency that may arise from the military exercise, Kan said his ministers should remain in the capital.