JAPAN

Japan orders SDF to prepare to shoot down North Korean rockets

A Self-Defense Forces soldier takes part in a drill to mobilize the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile unit in response to a missile launch by North Korea, at the U.S. Air Force's Yokota Air Base in Fussa, Tokyo, in August 2017. | REUTERS

By Jesse Johnson
STAFF WRITER

Apr 22, 2023

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Saturday ordered the Self-Defense Forces to be ready to shoot down a North Korean rocket or spy satellite should it appear likely to fall on Japanese territory.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's recent order for the launch of the country’s first military spy satellite, without giving a time frame, state-run media reported. But Kim said the satellite had already been built and ordered officials to speed up preparations for its launch, a hint that it could come soon.

Hamada ordered the SDF to make needed preparations ahead of any possible "order for the destruction of ballistic missiles" or other objects, the Japanese Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Japan orders SDF to prepare to shoot down North Korean rockets

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