Tokyo: Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera has ordered the country`s defense forces to prepare to intercept ballistic missiles from North Korea, a report has said.
According to several government sources, there is not a high possibility that the missile would target Japan, but the country has determined that it should prepare for any contingency.
Under the order, destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles will be deployed in the Sea of Japan to intercept any North Korean missiles that appear likely to hit Japan, the Japan Times reports.
The North`s military warned last week that it has been authorized to attack the U.S. using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons .
South Korean officials say North Korea has moved at least one missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, possibly the untested Musudan missile, believed to have a range of nearly 3,000 km.
(ANI)
