Seoul on alert over Pyongyang's imminent spy satellite launch
In this photo released by Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central TV, May 17, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, second from left, with his daughter Ju-ae, left, talks to officials of satellite launch preparation committee in North Korea. Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
The South Korean government is on high alert over North Korea's plan to launch in the coming weeks what it claims to be a rocket carrying a military spy satellite.
Seoul warned that Pyongyang will pay the price for the launch, which is banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions since it uses ballistic missile technology.
The National Security Council (NSC) held a meeting following a Japanese news report earlier in the day that Pyongyang had notified Tokyo of its plan to put its first military reconnaissance satellite in geosynchronous orbit between May 31 and June 11.
Chaired by National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, the NSC meeting discussed related countermeasures and relayed relevant information to President Yoon Suk Yeol. The National Security Office said the government was closely monitoring related developments.
Shortly after the meeting, Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement urging the North to give up the satellite launch plan.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk said North Korea's envisaged plan violates UNSC resolutions that ban Pyongyang from using ballistic missile technology which is also used to launch space rockets carrying satellites.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters about North Korea's notification of its imminent plan to launch a spy satellite, at his office in Tokyo, Monday. AP-Yonhap
“We strongly warn Pyongyang to stop threatening the peace in the region and demand they immediately call off the plan,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “Our government will prepare a tight-knit defense network in cooperation with the United States and Japan against military provocations by North Korea.”
Earlier on Monday, Japanese media reported that North Korea informed the International Maritime Organization of its plan for the satellite launch.
In response to the notification, the Japanese government began mobilizing Patriot surface-to-air missile systems in the country's southern Okinawa Prefecture and alerted military and national security authorities as well as vessels moving around the southwestern waters of Japan over the likely North Korean move, according to reports.
The Kim Jong-un regime announced earlier this month that his country completed preparations to mount its first military spy satellite on a rocket, raising speculation that the North's launch could take place as early as June.
Pyongyang also released news that Kim inspected a committee responsible for preparing for the launch of the military reconnaissance satellite and approved its "future action plan."
Japan's maritime security authority warned that satellite debris, should the launch take place, will likely fall in two spots in waters west of the country or one in the eastern waters of the Philippines, according to NHK. The broadcaster said the three spots are all outside of Japan's exclusive economic zones.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida criticized the North Korean satellite launch as a violation of UNSC resolutions. He said Japan's Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered the country's military force to destroy the satellite's debris once they fall into Japanese waters.
The North's spy satellite launch plan came after Seoul succeeded last Thursday in launching a locally-developed space rocket called Nuri that placed satellites in geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 550 kilometers.