North Korea plans to launch a satellite in the next two weeks: Japan | military news

Pyongyang said earlier that it had completed work on its first spy satellite, but Tokyo says the launch could be a ballistic missile.

A Japanese coast guard official says North Korea has informed Japan of a plan to launch a “satellite” that could be a ballistic missile between May 31 and June 11.

North Korea has also conducted a series of missile and weapons tests in recent months, including a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

Japanese officials believe the launch will involve a ballistic missile, according to a tweet from the Prime Minister’s Office referring to “a ballistic missile [Pyongyang] He describes it as a satellite.

Pyongyang has informed the Japanese coast guard that a missile will be launched between May 31 and June 11 and could affect waters near the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of Luzon Island in the Philippines, a coast guard spokesman told AFP.

The Japanese prime minister’s office urged North Korea to refrain from the launch and said it would work closely with allies.

“We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from launching,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Twitter, adding that it would cooperate “with relevant countries, such as the United States and South Korea.”

She said the Japanese government would do everything it could to collect and analyze information from the launch.

North Korea announced that it completed work on its first spy satellite in April. Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a satellite military facility and gave the go-ahead for a “future action plan”. Such a launch would use long-range missile technology banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Analysts say the spy satellite is part of the nuclear-armed North’s efforts to develop surveillance technology, including drones, and improve its ability to strike targets in the event of a conflict.

North Korean media earlier criticized plans by South Korea, the United States and Japan to share real-time data on Pyongyang’s missile launches, describing the three as discussing “vicious measures” to closer military cooperation.