Japan is fully prepared for North Korea's plan to launch a long-range rocket, the government's top spokesman said Monday as the communist nation sped up preparations at the liftoff site despite international opposition.
"The government is analyzing footage" and other information regarding the launch, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said at a news conference, a day after North Korea allowed foreign reporters to observe its work in progress at the new Sohae Satellite launch site, where all three stages of the 30-meter high Unha-3 rocket have been moved into position.
The Foreign Ministry has decided to go on constant alert starting Wednesday night. The launch is widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test that violates U.N. Security Council resolutions, officials said.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's office and relevant ministries are expected to follow suit.
Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba and the vice foreign ministers agreed to take all possible measures in response to the launch, which North Korea said will take place between 7 a.m. and noon, local time, within a five-day period starting Thursday.
North Korea has said the launch is aimed at putting an observation satellite into orbit.
Genba will be away from Tokyo from Tuesday to attend a two-day meeting of Group of Eight foreign ministers in Washington, where the launch will be a major topic. He is scheduled to return to Tokyo Saturday morning.
During Genba's absence, one of the two parliamentary senior vice foreign ministers will man the ministry in the morning, the officials said.