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                       Japan Deploys Missile Interceptors

   by VOA News

   Japan is deploying its missile defense system in anticipation of North
   Korea's planned rocket launch, which could occur as early as Monday.
   Japanese television showed three Aegis destroyers armed with SM-3
   missile interceptors reportedly headed for the East China Sea and the
   Sea of Japan on Thursday.
   Patriot missile interceptors later arrived at Okinawa island, which
   lies under the missile's projected flight path. Patriot missiles were
   also rolled into the field behind the defense ministry in Tokyo.
   Japan has threatened to shoot down the North Korean missile if it goes
   off course. It is the same stance the government took last year before
   Pyongyang's failed rocket launch.
   Michael Cucek, a research associate at the MIT Center for International
   Studies in Tokyo says many Japanese are keeping an eye on the
   developments.
   "If you watch television, you get this sense that the people,
   particularly in Okinawa prefecture, are concerned because the path of
   the missile will come close to them," he said. "Otherwise, it's a nice
   sunny day here in Tokyo, [and] people aren't concerned about it."
   Pyongyang says it plans to launch the three-stage rocket between
   December 10 and 22. It says the launch is aimed at placing a satellite
   into orbit.
   Its neighbors and much of the rest of the world have warned against the
   launch, saying it is a disguised missile test banned under U.N.
   sanctions.
   Lieutenant Salvatore Angelella, commander of U.S. forces in Japan, said
   Thursday that U.S. troops are are closely monitoring the situation,
   which he called "very dangerous."
   "This is against the U.N. Security Council resolutions and we are
   monitoring the situation closely and working with the [Japanese]
   Self-Defense Force and the Ministry of Defense," he said.
   On Wednesday, the U.S., Japanese and South Korean diplomats meeting in
   Washington agreed to take any North Korean launch to the U.N. Security
   Council.
   The Security Council condemned a failed North Korean launch in April,
   during which the rocket disintegrated shortly after take-off.
   Brad Glosserman of the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum says North Korean
   leader Kim Jong Un is conducting another launch in an attempt to
   bolster his political credentials. But he says the moves comes with
   some risk for the new leader.
   "You'd be hard-pressed to have a more distinguished failure. And in
   fact, two failures in one year would be a pretty poor start to this new
   administration," he explained. "You would think that given their [past]
   failures that he's aware that the stakes have been raised and that he
   needs a successful launch."
   Attempted North Korean rocket launches ended in failure in both 2006
   and 2009, although North Korea insisted on their success.
   Despite international pressure, North Korea is apparently going ahead
   with preparations for the latest launch. It is reportedly in the final
   stages of preparing the Tongchang-ri launch site in the northwest of
   the country.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/japan-deploys-missile-interceptors/1559470.html