[FPSPACE] Explanation for Japanese false alarm on NK launch

[Morris Jones]

This is from the NHK Web site.

---------------

Japan's Defense Ministry says misinformation about North Korea's
planned rocket launch was issued when ground-based radar near Tokyo
detected the trail of an unknown object over the Sea of Japan.

The
Japanese government reported shortly after noon on Saturday that North
Korea had apparently launched a rocket, but it said 5 minutes later
that the information was mistaken.

The Defense Ministry says Air
Self-Defense Force radar units are capable of detecting the trail of a
projectile from North Korea immediately after its launch.

The information captured by the radar is on display at the ministry and the prime minister's office.

To
prepare for the possible rocket launch, the ministry set up a network
to collect intelligence from a US early warning satellite,
Aegis-equipped destroyers of the Self-Defense Forces, and radar systems
installed at 5 locations in Japan.

The ministry says it had not
received any information from the US satellite, which should have
detected a rocket launch faster than any other method.

Ministry
officials are looking into why information from only one radar site led
to the official announcement on the rocket launch.




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