The launch, in violation of sanctions, follows Pyongyang’s third and successful attempt to launch a spy satellite in November.
North Korea notified Japan of its intention to launch a satellite between May 27 and June 4, after putting its first spy satellite into orbit in the third attempt last November.
Japan’s coast guard said the eight-day launch window began at midnight Sunday, with North Korea detailing three maritime danger zones near the Korean Peninsula and the Philippine island of Luzon where debris from the rocket carries -satellite could fall.
The announcement comes ahead of the first trilateral summit between Japan, South Korea and China in almost five years.
Officials from the United States, Japan and South Korea held telephone discussions after the notice was issued and urged Pyongyang to suspend the project because launching a satellite using ballistic missile technology would constitute a violation of United Nations resolutions, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
North Korea, which has nuclear weapons, has placed its first spy satellite in orbit in November, after two failed attempts, a decision that drew widespread condemnation.
The United States announced the launch, which came two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Vostochny cosmodrome in eastern Russia, and technical support promised for this isolated country, a “flagrant violation” of UN sanctions.
Kim Jong Un said late last year that Pyongyang launch three more military spy satellites this year, as it continues a military modernization program that has seen a record number of weapons tests in 2023.
Experts say spy satellites could improve Pyongyang’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, particularly on South Korea, and provide crucial data in any military conflict.
Seoul said Friday that South Korean and U.S. intelligence services were “closely monitoring and tracking” suspected preparations for the launch of another military reconnaissance satellite.
The suspicious preparations were detected in North Korea’s Tongchang-ri, Cholsan County, where the Sohae Satellite Launch Ground is based and where previous launches took place.
Seoul said North Korea received technical help from Russia in launching the satellite, in exchange for Moscow sending weapons to use in his war in Ukraine.
