North Korea has notified Japan of a plan to launch a space rocket carrying a satellite between Monday and midnight of June 3, Kyodo News reported, citing Japan's coast guard.
The notice on the eight-day window came as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are set to hold a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Monday, where evolving North Korean threats are likely to figure prominently.
It designated three areas where debris will fall -- two west of the Korean Peninsula and the other east of the Philippines' island of Luzon, according to the news outlet.
Pyongyang has made public a plan to launch three more satellites this year following its first military reconnaissance satellite launch in November.
The launch plan comes despite international criticism that any launch using ballistic missile technology is in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
"North Korea's purported military spy satellite launch is a provocative act that breaches the UN Security Council resolutions, and our military will implement measures that demonstrate our powerful capability and determination," Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said in a regular press briefing.
Last week, the South Korean military said it had detected apparent signs of Pyongyang preparing for a military spy satellite launch at a launch site on its west coast.
Observers said that the North appears intent to secure intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets as it is far behind the allies in ISR capabilities despite its focus on developing an array of formidable weapons systems, including submarine-launched ballistic missiles and tactical nuclear arms. (Yonhap)
