Japan clarifies report on North Korean missile launches

Tokyo: While confirming North Korea`s missile launches on Saturday, the Japanese government clarified none of the missiles landed in its territorial waters, Xinhua reported. South Korea`s Yonhap News Agency, citing its country`s defence ministry, had reported that North Korea launched three short-range guided missiles into the Sea of Japan.

The ministry had detected two missiles being launched in the morning and the last one was in the afternoon, it was reported. A day earlier, the Japanese media reported that Tokyo planed to permanently deploy interceptors capable of shooting down North Korean missiles. On April 7, Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera had ordered the Self-Defense Forces to shoot down North Korean missiles in the event any one of them was fired. It had also deployed the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors at the Defence ministry compound in Tokyo`s Ichigaya April 9. IANS