Tokyo [Japan], April 22 : Japan has turned on its missile interceptors and is getting ready to shoot down any pieces of a North Korean satellite that might land there, Al Jazeera reported.
Yasukazu Hamada, Japan's defence minister, gave orders to troops on Saturday to prepare PAC-3 surface-to-air missiles in southwest Japan, including Okinawa and surrounding islands, in a region thought to be in the path of a North Korean rocket that will launch the satellite.
According to a ministry statement, he also ordered the deployment of warships outfitted with SM-3 ship-to-air missiles to coastal seas.
"We are making the necessary preparations because of the possibility of issuing an order to destroy ballistic missiles and other objects," Al Jazeera reported citing the ministry statement.
Hamada gave the order to "implement measures necessary to limit damage in the event of a ballistic missile falling" to the soldiers, according to Al Jazeera.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, announced earlier this week that the country would launch its first military spy satellite at an undefined time.
North Korea fired ballistic missiles it referred to be satellite launches in 2012 and 2016. Both rockets passed over the area of Okinawa, as per Al Jazeera.
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