N. Korea notifies Japan of plan to launch “satellite”

TOKYO, North Korea has notified Japan of a plan to launch a "satellite" sometime between May 27 and June 3, the Japan Coast Guard said Monday. Pyongyang informed the Japan Coast Guard earlier in the day that two locations in the Yellow Sea west of the Korean Peninsula and one in the east of the Philippines' island of Luzon will be three danger zones in which projectile may fall. All the three areas are outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is currently in Seoul for the summit with Chinese and South Korean leaders, instructed relevant ministries and agencies to collect and analyze information, and provide appropriate information to the people, according to the government. The premier also asked the government officials to cooperate with the US, South Korea and other concerned countries in urging the North not to conduct the launch, and take all possible measures to prepare for unforeseen circumstances. Meanwhile, on Monday, senior officials from Japan, the US and South Korea in charge of North Korean affairs confirmed in their phone talks that they will urge North Korea to cancel the launch using ballistic missile technology, calling it "a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions," the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. Source: Kuwait News Agency