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Japan to deploy Patriot missiles in Tokyo

March 26, 2012 - 17:29 By

Japan is to deploy surface-to-air missiles in central Tokyo in readiness for North Korea's planned rocket launch, its defense minister said Monday.

The sitting of an anti-missile battery in the densely packed capital city would be in addition to facilities on the southern island chain of Okinawa Naoki Tanaka told lawmakers.

"We are working on procedures to deploy the Patriot in the Tokyo metropolitan area, acting on precedent," Tanaka told upper house members, referring to the PAC-3 surface-to-air missile defense system.

"We are also preparing to deploy the Patriot in the Nansei (southwestern) islands including Okinawa," as the second stage of North Korea's rocket is expected to fly over Japan's southernmost island chain, Tanaka added.

The nuclear-armed North has announced it will launch a rocket in mid-April to put a satellite into orbit, a move the United States, South Korea and other nations see as a pretext for a long-range missile test banned by the UN.

Tanaka said on Friday he was readying Japan's missile defense systems to shoot down the rocket if it looked set to fall on the country, a move similar to measures Japan took in 2009 before Pyongyang's last long-range rocket launch.

In 2009, Japan ordered missile-defense preparations, including the sitting of one of its PAC-3 systems at Ichigaya, next to the defense ministry building in central Tokyo.

The preparations by Japan, regularly the target of North Korean barbs, come as world leaders including US President Barack Obama are meeting in Seoul for a summit officially focused on nuclear terrorism.

Obama urged North Korea's leaders Monday to "have the courage to pursue peace", while South Korea has said it is also preparing to shoot down the North Korean rocket if it strays into the South's territory.

The 2009 rocket launch, which North Korea said was also aimed at putting a satellite into orbit, passed over Japan without incident or any attempt to shoot it down. (AFP)

 

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일본, 북한 로켓 대비해 도쿄에 미사일 배치한다


일본은 북한의 로켓 발사에 대비해 수도 도쿄에 지대공 미 사일인 패트리엇-3를 배치할 것이라고 다나카 나오키(田中直紀) 일본 방위상이 26일 밝혔다.

다나카 방위상은 이날 참의원에 출석, "우리는 선례에 따라 도쿄시 지역에 패트리엇 미사일을 배치하는 절차를 밟고 있다"고 밝혔다.

그는 또 북한의 로켓이 두번째 단계에서 일본 남부 끝 도서지역 상공을 날아갈 것으로 예상됨에 따라 "우리는 오키나와 섬을 포함한 남서부의 난세이 지역에도 패트리엇을 배치할 준비를 하고 있다"고 말했다.

북한은 앞서 위성을 궤도에 올리기 위해 다음달 중순 로켓을 발사할 것이라고 발표했으며 미국과 한국 등 국제사회는 이를 유엔이 금지한 장거리미사일 발사로 간 주하고 있다.

다나카 방위상은 앞서 지난 23일 북한의 로켓이 자국에 떨어질 것으로 보일 경우 이를 요격하기 위해 미사일 방어시스템을 가동할 준비를 갖추고 있다고 말했다. (연합뉴스)