Japan OKs deployment of missile defense system

TOKYO (AP) — Japan took the rare step Friday of ordering battleships and missile interceptors to protect its northern coast in case a rocket launch by North Korea goes awry.

Still, Tokyo urged calm and said the likelihood of rocket debris falling on Japan was low.

North Korea says it plans to launch its Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite April 4-8 and has designated a zone near Japan’s northern coast where debris is likely to fall.

Japan, South Korea and the United States suspect North Korea will use the launch to test the delivery technology for a long-range missile capable of striking Alaska. Amid heightened regional tensions, the communist nation has warned any attack on its satellite could be an act of war.

Russia said clearly for the first time Friday that it is urging North Korea not to conduct the launch.

“Everybody has the right to the peaceful use of space, and North Korea also has this right,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin told reporters in Moscow. “But the atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula is such that the launch of a rocket would be an additional factor of instability, increasing tension.”

Tokyo has repeatedly urged Pyongyang to refrain from the launch. Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Friday ordered the deployment of missile interceptors to the area at risk, vowing to “eliminate anything that may cause us any damage.”

Under the order, Japan’s military will deploy two missile-equipped destroyers to the Sea of Japan and send batteries of Patriot missile interceptors to protect the northern coast.

Prime Minister Taro Aso said the deployment was to ensure security, but added there is little chance debris will fall on Japanese territory.

“By any chance, if any flying objects fall on our territory, we have to respond to ensure safety for our citizens,” he said, according to Kyodo News agency.

Chief Cabinet spokesman Takeo Kawamura urged people “to remain calm” and repeated that falling debris was “unlikely.”

Nuclear envoys from Japan, South Korea and the U.S. were holding talks Friday at the State Department to coordinate a joint strategy.

U.S. intelligence officials say North Korea has mounted a rocket on a launch pad on its northeast coast. Citing an unidentified diplomatic official, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper said North Korea is now “technically” capable of a launch in three to four days.