North Korea to launch its first defence satellite in June to counter ‘reckless military acts’ by US: report

North Korea has said it will launch its first military reconnaissance  satellite next month to counter “reckless military acts” by the US, a report by state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

Japan on Monday said it had been informed by North Korea that a satellite launch could happen as early as this week.

Tokyo has warned Pyongyang may in fact be planning a sanctions-defying ballistic missile test.

KCNA cited Ri Pyong Chol, vice-chairman of the ruling party's central military commission, as saying the “military reconnaissance satellite No. 1” would be “launched in June”. That satellite, along with “various reconnaissance means due to be newly tested, are indispensable to tracking, monitoring... and coping with in advance in real time the dangerous military acts of the US and its vassal forces”, Chol said.

Japan's coast guard said the notice it received from North Korean waterway authorities said the launch window was from May 31 to June 11, and that the launch may affect waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of the Philippines' Luzon Island.

Japan's defence minister Yasukazu Hamada said he ordered Japan’s Self Defense Force to shoot down the satellite or debris, if any entered Japanese territory.

To launch a satellite into space, North Korea would have to use long-range missile technology banned by UN Security Council resolutions.

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the launch would violate UN resolutions and was a “threat to the peace and safety of Japan, the region and the international community”.

South Korea also warned Monday that North Korea will face consequences if it goes ahead with its launch plan in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions that ban the North from conducting any launch using ballistic technology.

“Our government strongly warns North Korea against a provocation that threatens peace in the region and urges it to withdraw its illegal launch plan immediately,” a ministry statement said.

(With inputs from agencies)