< anchor informed Japan >

North Korea will launch a satellite within ten days starting tomorrow (22nd). It is likely to launch a military reconnaissance satellite that failed twice in May and August.

Today's first news, Baiyun reporter.

<Reporter>

North Korea has informed the Japan Coast Guard that it plans to launch a satellite between 5:8 tomorrow and the 2st of next month, according to NHK and other Japanese media.

There are two places of concern for falling objects, including the West Sea southwest of North Korea, and one in the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines, all of which are outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has instructed relevant ministries to make every effort to gather and analyze intelligence and to respond in coordination with the United States and South Korea.

There are observations that North Korea is about to launch a third satellite of a military reconnaissance satellite, which failed twice before, but North Korea's first satellite launch in May failed due to a second-stage engine failure, and its second satellite launch in August failed due to a third-stage emergency explosion system error.

The South Korean government and military also launched an unusual pre-emptive press yesterday, warning of a halt to launches.

[Kang Ho-pil/Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: If the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite goes ahead despite our warnings, our military will take necessary measures to ensure the lives and safety of the people.]

The National Security Office also held a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Security Council under the chairmanship of Director General Cho Tae-yong to examine the possibility of North Korea's provocation and how to respond to it.

The ROK military believes that the possibility of a successful third launch is great as it corrected the defects of the first and second failures with the help of Russia after Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia.

The U.S. State Department also said it was "concerned about the transfer of Russian technology to North Korea" and that "such transfers are a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions."

(Video Editor: Yu Mi-ra)