The Japanese government announced shortly after noon on Saturday that North Korea’s planned rocket launch appeared to have gone ahead, only to withdraw the announcement minutes later.

At 12:16 p.m. the government announced that a “flying object” appeared to have been launched from North Korea. But five minutes later it corrected the announcement, saying, “The information just released is incorrect, and there has been no confirmation that a flying object has been launched.” The reason for the false announcement was not immediately clear.

Government officials said they are still investigating the cause of the error.

“A FPS5 radar in Iioka (in the Chiba Prefecture city of Asahi) spotted some kind of object. It was then reported (to the prime minister’s office) that a flying object was launched,” a Defense Ministry official said.

Akira prefectural officials said that at about 10:50 a.m. the Ministry of Defense sent the prefecture’s disaster countermeasures headquarters unconfirmed information of a launch. This was then relayed by e-mail to cities, towns and villages in the prefecture as a confirmed launch.

At about 11:10 a.m. it was conveyed that the report was false, but in Noshiro, Akita Prefecture, a message was broadcast over a community wireless system at 10:59 a.m. saying: “A flying object has been launched from North Korea. Please be alert to TV and radio information.

North Korea claims that it plans to launch a satellite on the rocket, but there are suspicions that it is in fact a long-range missile test.

On Saturday morning, government officials including Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshitada Konoike entered the prime minister’s office one by one, with the entrance that is usually closed on Saturdays opened at 8:30 a.m.

At 8:30 a.m., Aso left his residence to go for a walk. When asked by reporters, “Will the missile (launch) be today?” he did not reply.

At 8:40, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management Tetsuro Ito entered the prime minister’s office, followed by Director of Cabinet Intelligence Hideshi Mitani at 8:55 a.m. At 9 a.m. Konoike went into an office saying, “Be prepared and have no regrets.”

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and other officials also turned up at the Ministry of Defense on Saturday morning, going on the alert as planned. The defense minister arrived at 10:25 a.m. When asked by reporters about a report from the Korean Central News Agency that preparations for a launch had been completed, he replied, “I have not heard any such information directly.”

Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 10:25 a.m. Addressing reporters, he said, “If it turns out that the North has launched a missile, it will be a clear violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution, so we will adopt a resolute response, and issue a strong message.”

The crisis management center of the prime minister’s office has already set up a liaison office in preparation for a missile launch, and is collecting information.

Source: Mainichi Daily News