Japan avoids targetting North Korean rocket

December 12, 2012 09:14

Japan did not try to shoot down a North Korean rocket as it passed over its southern island chain of Okinawa, the government said today, strongly condemning the launch.

Tokyo confirmed the launch had taken place and that said it believed parts of the rocket had fallen into the sea off the Korean peninsula, with another part dropping into the ocean near the Philippines.

"Launch time was around 9:49 AM (local time). The missile that North Korea calls a satellite passed over Okinawa around 10:01. We launched no interception," a government statement said.

Japan had been on high alert since the 13-day lift-off window opened, despite a suggestion from Pyongyang that it could delay the much-criticised blast-off.

The impoverished but nuclear-armed nation insists the long-range rocket launch -- its second this year after a much-hyped but botched mission in April -- is for peaceful scientific purposes.

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