Japan to make missile interception a standing order
Published 1:30 am Saturday, August 6, 2016
The Japan News/Yomiuri
The Japanese government is planning to keep an order issued by the defense minister to intercept and destroy incoming ballistic missiles launched by North Korea permanently in effect, according to government sources.
The government deems it necessary to be on constant alert, as North Korea has been repeatedly launching ballistic missiles from mobile launchpads, making it difficult to detect signs of a possible impending launch.
The government intends to issue a standing order on missile interception soon.
The interception order is based on Article 82 of the Self-Defense Forces Law and issued with the approval of the prime minister to prevent damage to human lives and assets when signs that North Korea is about to launch ballistic missiles are detected. The order can also be issued in advance in anticipation of a sudden chain of events.
By putting the order permanently in effect, Aegis destroyers dispatched to the Sea of Japan can be prepared for contingencies and will be able to intercept incoming missiles with SM-3 interceptors. Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) surface-to-air guided missile units will also be made ready for rapid deployment at places such as the Defense Ministry in the Ichigaya district of Tokyo.
Up until now, the government has been issuing interception orders as required when signs of an imminent missile launch were detected. However, the government failed to do so on Wednesday when North Korea launched a medium-range ballistic missile, most likely a Rodong, with a range of about 1,300 kilometers, as it was launched from a mobile launchpad. Accordingly, the government was unable to issue an interception order.
The warhead of the missile launched Wednesday landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan. As a result, a sense of crisis is building inside the government. “It’s a threat to our security,” one government source said. “The way North Korea has been behaving lately, a missile launch could come at any time.”
The SDF and the Defense Ministry, based on their analyses of the situation, reached the conclusion that it would be appropriate to keep the interception order effective on a permanent basis.
The Kim Jong Un regime, inaugurated in late 2011, has fired at least 30 ballistic missiles. The medium-range Rodong, the Musudan of the same category with a range of from 2,500 kilometers to 4,000 kilometers and the short-range Scud with a range of 500 kilometers, have been launched successively. Because they are launched from mobile launchpads, in many cases, the Japanese government was unable to issue an interception order based on signs of an imminent launch.
Meanwhile, senior defense officials from Japan, the United States and South Korea held a teleconference Friday. They agreed to work closely together and continue sharing information with regard to North Korea’s missile launches.
