Japan/North Korea

Japan deploys Patriot missiles ahead of North Korean rocket launch, but US will not shoot it down

Article published on the 2009-03-29 Latest update 2009-03-29 14:31 TU

A truck carrying PAC-3 missiles arrives in Asaka, near Tokyo, on 27 March.
(Photo: Reuters)

Japan has deployed Patriot missile launchers in Tokyo and other regions ahead of a North Korean rocket launch set to take place next month. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he thinks the launch will go ahead, but the US has no plans to intervene at the moment.

Japan’s military has deployed two Patriot missile launchers at the ministry of defence in central Tokyo ahead of a North Korean rocket launch planned for between 4 and 8 April.

Meanwhile, during an interview on Fox News Sunday, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that the US would not shoot down the projectile.

"I would say we're not prepared to do anything about it," said Gates. "Launching a missile like this and threatening to have a nuclear test, I think it says a lot about the imperviousness of this regime in North Korea to any kind of diplomatic overtunes," he added.

"They do seem to be very concerned here, I’m actually in northern Japan, and they’re delivering Patriot 3 missiles up here as well [...] placing them in central Tokyo would be overkill, perhaps they’re more for show, than effect," says correspondent Julian Ryall.

The American-made Patriot Advanced Capability or PAC-3 missiles, are intended to protect against the possible threat of a ballistic missile test, which the US and Japan believe North Korea could be planning.

Pyongyang has stated that the rocket launch is intended to install a communications satellite, but Japan is worried about it passing over it’s territory.

"The biggest concern of the Japanese government, is that if there is a malfunction in the launch, then the flight path and trajectory of this missile is over northern Japan," Ryall told RFI. "The government has already stated that if it looks like that is the case, then it will have no hesitation in shooting it down."

It has also sent two destroyers to prepare to intercept the missile, as North Korea warns that the rocket’s first booster could be jettisoned into the Sea of Japan, off the Akita prefecture.

On Sunday, around 60 vehicles left Hamamatsu base in Shizuoka Prefecture, to be deployed at 2 bases in the northern region of Tohoku.

The Japanese media reported that the government believes there is very little possibility of the rocket falling on Japanese soil, despite repeatedly warning North Korea that the launch would be a breach of past UN security council resolutions.

"We already know that they are a nuclear power, they’ve already denoted a nuclear device, so there is concern that they’re pushing ahead with developing a delivery system [...] I have to say that if something does go wrong, things could get very nasty over here," Ryall told RFI, speaking from Saitama, just outside of Tokyo.

Gates said the US government thinks the launch is "intended as a mask for the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile," although he ruled out the possibility of this missile reaching the American continent.

North Korea has said it would regard any interception of their rocket as an act of war.