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This photo, released by North Korean state media, shows the North’s May 31 launch of a military reconnaissance satellite. Engine failure caused the rocket to splash down in the ocean. (KCNA/Yonhap)

Japan says that North Korea has sent notification that it plans to launch a satellite between Aug. 24 and Aug. 31, a move that Tokyo has urged be called off. North Korea appears to be making a second attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite after failing to place one in orbit in May.

“We will work with relevant countries such as the US and South Korea to strongly demand that North Korea stop launching [the satellite],” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a directive on North Korea's satellite launch notification on Tuesday.

“We will be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances,” he added. The Japanese government is collecting and analyzing information from a task force set up at the prime minister’s office.

After being notified of the North Korean satellite launch, the Japan Coast Guard issued a navigational warning for three areas where debris is expected to fall: two in areas off Korea’s western coast and one off the coast of the Philippines, all of which are outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and asked ships passing through the area to move cautiously in these areas.

“North Korea failed to launch a military reconnaissance satellite in May 2023 and vowed to launch a second one as soon as possible,” said Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada. He added that his ministry is maintaining the order instructing the Japan Self-Defense Forces to intercept and destroy the projectile if it falls into Japanese territory.

Off the coast of Japan, Aegis-equipped ships with high-performance radars and interceptors capable of tracking ballistic missiles are on standby around the clock. On the ground, Patriot (PAC)-3s have been deployed to the main island of Okinawa and the main islands of the Nansei Islands, including Miyako, Ishigaki and Yonaguni.

Japan has been on high alert, saying the technology used to launch satellites and ballistic missiles is virtually identical.

“North Korea has made five previous similar announcements. It fired what experts believe were ballistic missiles between the first and third day of each of its declared launch windows,” reported NHK, a Japanese broadcaster.

Regarding North Korea’s reconnaissance satellite launches, the broadcaster emphasized that North Korea “intends to use satellites to not only identify the movements of US carrier strike groups in real time, but also to attack with ballistic missiles. This seems to be in order to make the US military hesitate to commit forces to the Korean Peninsula in case of an emergency.”

In May, North Korea launched a military reconnaissance satellite, the Malligyong-1, which crashed into the waters west of the Korean Peninsula after the launch vehicle’s engine failed.

By Kim So-youn, Tokyo correspondent

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