Seoul, Tokyo threaten to intercept North Korean rocket debris

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea and Japan vowed to shoot down any debris that falls on their territories from a long-range rocket North Korea plans to fire this month, with Seoul saying Thursday it has detected launch preparations by Pyongyang.

North Korea has informed international organizations it will launch an observation satellite aboard a rocket between Monday and Feb. 25. South Korea, the United States and others say such a move would be a cover for a banned test of a missile that could strike the U.S. mainland.

The launch announcement follows an outpouring of global condemnation over the North's fourth nuclear test Jan. 6. If North Korea's past patterns are any clue, angry warnings by Seoul, Washington and their allies probably won't dissuade a coming launch.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said Thursday the North is pushing ahead with the launch plans at its west coast Tongchang-ri launch site. Spokesman Moon Sang Gyun said South Korea is using Aegis-equipped destroyers, aircraft, sophisticated radars and other surveillance assets to monitor the North's launch preparations but refused to provide further details.

Recent commercial satellite images showed an increased number of vehicles at North Korea's Sohae launch station on Feb. 1, compared to a week earlier. This suggests the North is preparing for a space launch in coming weeks, according to 38 North, a North Korea-focused website run by the U.S-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

However, the website said it was impossible to tell from the satellite imagery whether a space launch vehicle was present.

South Korean and U.S. officials said a launch would threaten regional security and violate U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the North from engaging in any nuclear and ballistic activities.

Diplomats at the U.N. Security Council have already pledged to pursue fresh sanctions on North Korea over its recent nuclear test.