Japan to deploy interceptor in Sea of Japan to counter N. Korea+

TOKYO, March 3 Kyodo -
Japan plans to deploy an Aegis-equipped destroyer carrying the Standard
Missile-3 interceptor to the Sea of Japan to prepare for a possible North
Korean missile launch in case it is aimed at Japan, defense sources said
Tuesday.
North Korea says it is preparing to launch a satellite but Japan's missile
defense guideline provides that the defense minister may order an intercept
when a rocket to launch a satellite is feared to fall onto Japanese soil or
into Japanese territorial waters.
''We would have no other choice but to intercept,'' said a senior Maritime
Self-Defense Force officer, referring to a scenario in which a missile or a
rocket is launched and judged headed for Japan.
But Japan could face a dilemma as friction with North Korea would heighten if
Japan dared intercept, according to the sources.
Japan is considering sending the Kongou and the Chokai -- the two SM-3
interceptor-carrying ships among Japan's six Aegis-equipped destroyers -- to
areas including the Sea of Japan as a precautionary measure in cooperation with
the U.S. military, a senior Defense Ministry official said.
The steps would be taken based on a provision on missile interception in the
Self-Defense Forces Law added in a 2005 amendment.
The government is to decide on an intercept under the provision, which offers
several scenarios for doing so.
It says if Japan sees a tangible sign of a launch, the prime minister may
tender the authority to intercept to the defense minister via a Cabinet meeting
and a commander may carry out the interception.
If there is no tangible sign but there is a development that calls for caution,
the defense minister may put SDF units on standby for a certain period and a
commander may carry out an interception in the event of a launch.
North Korea is said possibly to be preparing to launch an improved version of
its Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile.
In August 1998, when North Korea fired what is believed to have been a
Taepodong-1 missile, part of which flew over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean,
Pyongyang claimed it had successfully test-launched a satellite.
At that time, Japanese Aegis and other ships went to the Sea of Japan and
elsewhere to detect and track the missile, but they had no ability to intercept
it.
The SM-3 interceptor launched from an Aegis destroyer covers the upper range of
a missile shield and is designed to intercept incoming missiles outside of the
earth's atmosphere.
The ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability 3 is responsible for the lower
range of the shield and is designed to intercept incoming missiles the SM-3
misses.
Test results for the MSDF SM-3 interceptors have so far been mixed, with one
from the Kongou in December 2007 was a success but the other from the Chokai in
November last year was a failure.
==Kyodo
2009-03-03 22:33:51