Japan issues order to shoot down N Korean rocket

Japan's Defense Minister, Satoshi Morimoto on Friday ordered missile units to intercept a long-range rocket expected to be launched by North Korea if the rocket or its fragments threaten to hit Japan. The Unha-3 rocket is expected to fly past western Japan after its launch from North Korea's west coast sometime between April 12 and 16. The plan has raised concerns that a failed launch, or a falling stage of the rocket, could endanger Japanese lives or property, Japan news agency (Kyodo) reported. "All the preparations will be completed one day before the earliest launch date," Morimoto said at a news conference, saying that two Aegis-equipped destroyers capable of launching antiballistic missiles are being deployed to the East China Sea and another to the Sea of Japan.