Japan on Alert After Threat of Potential North Korean Missile Launch

Japan's defense minister has readied missile-defense systems.

ByABC News

May 30, 2016, 1:28 PM

Japanese Minister of Defense Gen. Nakatani attends a press conference announcing a reconfirmation and revision to the "Guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation," created by the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee on April 27, 2015 in New York City | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claps during the first congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party in 36 years, in Pyongyang, North Korea, on May 9, 2016.
Getty Images/Reuters

 -- Japan’s military has been put on alert, and ordered to prepare to intercept a possible North Korean missile, a government source told Japan’s Kyodo News.

Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani gave the order amid signs that Pyongyang may go ahead with a ballistic missile launch.

Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air guided interceptors in central Tokyo were readied as a response to Nakatani's order, and surveillance activities were also stepped up.

A separate government source today told Kyodo News that the Japanese have received indications that Pyongyang is preparing to launch a ballistic missile, possibly an intermediate-range Musudan missile, in the eastern part of North Korea facing the Sea of Japan.

PHOTO: A file photo dated October 2010 by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows a 'Musudan' missile during a military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers' Party of Korea, in Pyongyang, North Korea. — A file photo dated October 2010 and made available by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows a 'Musudan' missile displayed during a military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers' Party of Korea, in Pyongyang, North Korea.
EPA

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously in favor of sanctioning North Korea in March after a resolution drafted by the United States and China, which is considered to be an ally of the North Korean government.

"Virtually all of [North Korea's] resources are channeled into its reckless and relentless pursuit of weapons of mass destruction," U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the council after the vote.