Japan yesterday ordered its military to prepare to shoot down a North Korean ballistic missile after Pyongyang this week said it was ready to launch its first military spy satellite.
Placing the satellite into orbit would require a long-range projectile, which North Korea is banned from launching because the UN views such exercises as tests of ballistic missile technology.
Japanese Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada yesterday told the country’s Self-Defense Forces “there is a possibility of ordering destructive measures against ballistic missiles and others,” a statement from the defense ministry said.
Photo: KCNA via Reuters
Hamada instructed troops to “implement measures necessary to limit damage in the event of a ballistic missile falling.”
He ordered preparations for the deployment of destroyers equipped with SM-3 missile interceptors, as well as military units in the southern prefecture of Okinawa that can operate Patriot PAC-3 missiles.
In 2012 and 2016, North Korea tested ballistic missiles that Pyongyang called satellite launches. Both missiles flew over the Okinawa region.
Japanese media yesterday reported that the defense ministry issued the same preparation orders in 2012.
Pyongyang has not provided a launch date, with leader Kim Jong-un only saying that the satellite would be sent up “at the planned date.”
On Tuesday, G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan demanded that North Korea refrain from any further ballistic missile tests following a spate of launches this year.
The group of rich nations also warned Pyongyang against carrying out an expected nuclear weapons test and said there would be a “robust” response if it did not comply.
A week ago Pyongyang said it had successfully tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, hailing it as a breakthrough for the country’s nuclear counterattack capabilities.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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