By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Japan will order its Self Defense Forces to destroy North Korea's missile if it's launched, Japan' Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported Wednesday.
The decision was made at a meeting of some related ministers, including the foreign minister and defense minister, the report said, adding that Japan will convene a security council meeting Friday to finalize its position on North Korea's planned missile launch.
The report said the defense ministry would deploy surface-to-air interceptor missiles, also known as the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3), in Akita and Iwate prefectures.
On Tuesday, North Korea warned it will boycott the six-party nuclear talks if the United Nations imposes sanctions over its rocket launch, according to the Yonhap News Agency.
``The Tokyo government is expected to soon issue an order to take measures to destroy the missile under the Self-Defense Forces Law. The PAC-3 missiles will then be moved, probably to the Ground SDF's Akita and Iwate camps,'' a defense ministry source was quoted as saying.
The defense missiles will destroy rocket boosters or other parts that could fall in the prefectures, the source added.
The ministry, however, decided to keep some of the missiles in the northeastern Tohoku region in case the boosters fall on Tokyo, according to the report.
North Korea told international organizations in aviation early this month that it will send a ``satellite'' into orbit as part of a national space program but many outside experts say it would be a test launch of Taepodong-2, a long-range missile that is theoretically capable of hitting Alaska and Hawaii.
Asahi also had a skeptical view of Japan's plan.
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone reportedly said it would be ``indeed difficult'' for Japan's missile to intercept a North Korean ``satellite'' if it landed in Japan.
Besides, the PAC-3 missile is known to cover an area within a radius of only 70 kilometers, which, the newspaper said, means that the entire Tohoku region will not be defended.
In 1998, Pyongyang launched the Kwangmyongsong-1 satellite, which the outside world considered a Taepodong-1 multi-stage missile. It was fired over Japan.
In Seoul, South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Wi Sung-lak, said it is unavoidable to take a countermeasure if North Korea launches a long-range missile.
Wi made the remarks after returning to Seoul following his two-day trip to China Wednesday. He is scheduled to visit the United States this week for talks with U.S. officials.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) has warned the secretive state that the rocket launch scheduled for early April would be seen as a violation of a U.S. Security Council resolution.
An EU delegation emphasized to North Korean authorities that their announced ``experimental satellite launch" would be seen as a breach of the UNSC Resolution 1718, and it will send a wrong signal to the international community,'' the Czech Republic said in a press release.
The message was delivered by the delegation of EU Troika ― Czech Republic, European Commission and EU Council ― during its trip to Pyongyang early this week.