North Korea informs Japan of a plan to launch a satellite

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Japan said Monday that North Korea had informed it of a plan to launch a satellite by June 3, in an apparent effort to put its second satellite into orbit military spy

The launch announcement came as the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China gathered in Seoul for their first trilateral meeting months later.

Japan’s coast guard said it had been notified by North Korea of ​​a planned launch of a “satellite missile”, with safety warnings in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and China and east of the Philippine island of Luzon from Monday to at midnight on June 3rd.

North Korea is providing Japan with information about the launch as Japan’s coast guard coordinates and distributes maritime security information in East Asia.

The launch plan likely refers to the North’s push to launch its second military spy satellite into space. South Korea’s military said on Friday it had detected signs that North Korea was engaging in activities believed to be preparations for the launch of a spy satellite at its main Tongchangri launch facility in the northwest.

Last November, North Korea launched its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit as part of its efforts to build a space surveillance network to counter what it calls US-led military threats.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later said at a year-end ruling party meeting that the country would launch three more military spy satellites in 2024.

The UN bans North Korea from launching any satellites, viewing them as cover for testing its long-range missile technology. North Korea has steadfastly maintained it has the right to launch satellites and test missiles in the face of what it calls military threats posed by the United States and South Korea.

The North’s November satellite launch deepened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with both Koreas taking steps to violate their 2018 agreement to reduce military tensions.

In recent years, North Korea has engaged in a provocative series of missile tests to modernize and expand its weapons arsenals, prompting the US and South Korea to step up military exercises in response. Experts say North Korea likely believes an expanded weapons arsenal would increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the US

North Korea was not among the issues listed on the official agenda of Monday’s trilateral meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

But during a bilateral meeting with Li on Sunday, Yoon called on China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to help promote peace on the Korean Peninsula, while also talking about North Korea’s nuclear program and deepening ties its military ties with Russia, according to Yoon’s office.

South Korea, Japan and the US have long called on China — North Korea’s main ally and economic conduit — to use its leverage to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear ambitions. But China is suspected of avoiding the full application of UN sanctions on North Korea and sending clandestine aid shipments to help its impoverished neighbor stay afloat.

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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.

Hyung-jin Kim and Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press