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Japan, South Korea re-route flights to avoid North Korea satellite

Friday, 05 February 2016 7:30 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 05 February 2016 7:31 AM ]

Japanese All Nippon Airways (ANA) passenger jets at Haneda airport in Tokyo on January 29, 2016 (photo by AFP)

Japan and South Korea are changing the flights routes used by their airlines to avoid a declared satellite launch by North Korea later this month.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines said on Friday that they will change the paths of seven flights from Japan to the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia from February 8 to 25, the period during which Pyongyang has announced it will launch the satellite.

“The move is to comfort customers who might worry about their flights in the region, given how North Korea’s announcement to launch a satellite was so widely covered in the media,” said an airline spokesperson.

South Korea also announced a change in the paths of 41 flights over the issue.

Pyongyang informed international organizations that it will launch an observation satellite aboard a rocket between February 8 and 25.

South Korea, along with the US and other countries, has said the launch would be a cover for a banned test of a missile that could strike the United States.

Japan also issued a similar warning, claiming that Pyongyang may be also preparing for a ballistic missile test from a base on its east coast along with the rocket launch.

Both Japan and South Korea have threatened that they will destroy any projectiles or debris that may enter their territorial space.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang also expressed “deep concern” over the launch, warning Pyongyang not to “escalate tensions” on the Korean Peninsula.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), however, confirmed that Pyongyang had informed the UN agency about its plan to launch the ‘Kwangmyongsong’ satellite.

Pyongyang, which is under UN sanctions over launching missiles considered by the US and South Korea as ballistic, says it’s only boosting defense capabilities in the face of enemy threats.

North Korea is irked by joint military maneuvers by South Korea and the US, and views them as direct threats against its security.

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