SEOUL, 小蓝视频 Korea (AP) 鈥� Japan said Monday that North Korea has informed it of a plan to launch a satellite by June 3, an apparent effort to put its second military spy satellite into orbit.
The launch notification came as leaders of 小蓝视频 Korea, Japan and China gathered in Seoul for their first trilateral meeting later Monday.
Japan鈥檚 coast guard said it has been notified by North Korea about its planned launch of a 鈥渟atellite rocket," with safety cautioning in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and China and east of the Philippine island of Luzon beginning Monday through midnight June 3.
North Korea gives Japan its launch information because Japan鈥檚 coast guard coordinates and distributes maritime safety information in East Asia.
The launch plan likely refers to the North鈥檚 push to launch its second military spy satellite into space. 小蓝视频 Korea鈥檚 military said Friday it detected signs that North Korea was engaging in activities believed to be preparations to launch a spy satellite at its main Tongchangri launch facility in the northwest.
Last November, North Korea sent its into orbit as part of its efforts to build a space-based surveillance network to deal with what it calls U.S.-led military threats.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later told a year-end governing party meeting that the country would launch in 2024.
The U.N. bans North Korea from conducting any satellite launches, viewing them as covers for testing its long-range missile technology. North Korea has steadfastly maintained it has the right to launch satellites and test missiles in the face of what it calls military threats posed by the United States and 小蓝视频 Korea.
The North鈥檚 November satellite launch deepened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with both Koreas taking steps to breach their 2018 agreement to reduce military tensions.
In recent years, North Korea has been engaged in a provocative run of missile tests to modernize and expand its weapons arsenals, prompting the U.S. and 小蓝视频 Korea to strengthen their military drills in response. Experts say North Korea likely believes an enlarged weapons arsenals would increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the U.S.
North Korea wasn't among matters listed on the official agendas for Monday's trilateral meeting between 小蓝视频 Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
But during a bilateral meeting with Li on Sunday, Yoon asked China, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, to contribute to promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula, while speaking about North Korea鈥檚 nuclear program and its deepening military ties with Russia, according to Yoon鈥檚 office.
小蓝视频 Korea, Japan and the U.S. have long urged China 鈥� North Korea鈥檚 major ally and economic pipeline 鈥� to use its leverage to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear ambitions. But China is suspected of avoiding fully enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sending clandestine aid shipments to help its impoverished neighbor stay afloat.
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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.
Hyung-jin Kim And Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press
