In the early morning of May 27, North Korea notified the Japanese government of its satellite launch plan. May 27 also happens to be the day the Korea-Japan-China trilateral summit will be held. This move is interpreted as a provocative act by North Korea, as the possibility of discussing denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula is expected to be raised at the summit.
During the early hours of May 27, the Japanese Cabinet Office announced North Korea had notified them of its plan to launch a rocket carrying an artificial satellite between May 27 and June 4. They had set up three maritime danger zones accordingly.
The notified danger zones are two areas in the southwestern Yellow Sea of North Korea and one in the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines, all outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The Japanese Coast Guard issued a navigation warning to vessels to avoid falling debris in the three areas from midnight on May 27 until midnight on June 4 (JST).
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered relevant departments to “fully prepare to collection information and analyses, cooperate with the U.S. and others to strongly urge North Korea to suspend the launch, and establish a full readiness posture to deal with any unforeseen situations in response to North Korea’s satellite launch alarm.”
In response to North Korea’s alarm about its satellite launch plan, Lee Jun Il, South Korea’s Director-General for North Korean Nuclear Affairs, Jung Pak, the U.S. Deputy Special Representative for North Korea, and Namazu Hiroyuki, Japan’s Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, held a phone consultation on the same day and agreed to demand that North Korea halt its launch plan, according to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
They confirmed that “even if the launch using North Korea’s ballistic missile technology is intended for a satellite launch, any launch using North Korea’s ballistic missile technology is a clear violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions that prohibit any such launches” and that they “will demand North Korea to halt it.”
They also agreed to maintain close cooperation among the three countries, focusing on security cooperation between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, enhancing deterrence and response capabilities, coordinating actions at the UN Security Council, and fostering international collaboration with allied nations.
North Korea announced its plan to launch an artificial satellite in November last year and designated the same maritime areas as danger zones. After launching Military Reconnaissance Satellite 1 last year and placing it in orbit, North Korea has publicly stated that it plans to launch three more this year.
At today’s Korea-Japan-China summit, President Yoon Suk Yeol, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, and Premier Li Qiang of China were in attendance. The denuclearization of North Korea was excluded from the official agenda, but the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula may be announced in the joint statement.
North Korea’s announcement of its satellite launch is seen as an attempt to accentuate the confrontation between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. It also aims to highlight the tensions with North Korea, China, and Russia over issues related to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.
