U.S., Japan mobilize for N. Korean launch
Japan is mobilizing its missile defense system, and U.S. Navy ships are deploying to the Sea of Japan, as North Korea prepares to launch a rocket that is expected next month, officials said.
The U.S. ships are capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, a Navy spokesman said.
North Korea says it will launch a commercial satellite on top of a rocket sometime between April 4 and April 8. But other governments fear the North Koreans will actually put a long-range missile on top of the rocket.
The United States and Japan have been stepping up pressure on North Korea, hoping to head off the launch. 
Watch why the U.S. is ‘very concerned’ »
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin on Friday also urged North Korea to not launch the rocket, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.
Japan’s military has two-pronged orders: to move destroyers carrying air-to-sea missiles to the Sea of Japan, which separates Japan and North Korea, and to send land-to-air missiles to northern Japan.
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However, the probability of a missile successfully hitting a moving target without a known trajectory — as in the case of debris — is very low, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshitada Konoike said earlier this week.
If North Korea launches, the United States may have as little as five minutes to decide whether it is a threat and, if necessary, try to shoot it down. Watch more about the rising tensions »
The U.S. ships that are being moved to the Sea of Japan are “prepared to track a launch or more, if afforded,” according to a U.S. Navy official who could not be named because of the sensitivity of the information…
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Posted by John Malloy
on Mar 27 2009. Filed under International.
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