Warning to Kim: Japan prepares to shoot down North Korean rocket as China calls for ‘restraint’

Japan puts ballistic missile defence units on alert after North Korea said it planned to launch satellite some time between February 8-25

Reading Time:3 minutes

A ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor, deployed on the grounds of the Defence Ministry in Tokyo amid signs North Korea is preparing for a long-range missile test. Photo: EPA

Published: 6:51pm, 3 Feb 2016Updated: 6:51pm, 3 Feb 2016

Japan placed its military on alert on Wednesday to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it threatens Japan, while South Korea warned the North will pay a “severe price” if it proceeds with a satellite launch that Seoul considers a missile test.

North Korea should immediately call off the planned launch, which is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the South’s presidential Blue House said in a statement.

Seoul’s warning came after the North notified UN agencies on Tuesday of its plan to launch what it called an “earth observation satellite” some time between February 8 and 25.

“North Korea’s notice of the plan to launch a long-range missile, coming at a time when there is a discussion for Security Council sanctions on its fourth nuclear test, is a direct challenge to the international community,” the Blue House said.

A man watches a news report on North Korea's planned rocket launch as the television screen shows file footage of North Korea's Unha-3 rocket which launched in 2012, at a railway station in Seoul on February 3, 2016. North Korea announced it planned to launch a space rocket between February 8-25, a move condemned by the United States as

“We strongly warn that the North will pay a severe price ... if it goes ahead with the long-range missile launch plan,” it said.