U.S. aircraft carrier arrives as North’s spy satellite launch looms

On the same day, the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived in Busan, South Korea's Navy said, in a show of force against the North's nuclear and missile threats.

The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier arrives at a naval base in Busan on Tuesday in a show of force against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. North Korea notified Japan of a plan to launch a military spy satellite, its third attempt, between Wednesday and Dec. 1. [YONHAP]

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday it is closely monitoring North Korea after the regime notified Japan that its third attempt to launch a military spy satellite could come as early as Wednesday.

According to the Japanese coast guard, North Korea told Japan earlier Tuesday that it planned to launch a space satellite between Wednesday and Dec. 1 in the direction of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

On the same day, the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived in Busan, South Korea's Navy said, in a show of force against the North's nuclear and missile threats.

The USS Carl Vinson, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 1, docked at a naval base in Busan after last visiting the Korean Peninsula in 2017.

It is the third U.S. aircraft carrier to visit the country this year, following the USS Nimitz in March and the USS Ronald Reagan in October, demonstrating Washington's commitment to extended deterrence in the region.

This would be the third attempt by North Korea to try to launch a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit after two previous failures.

North Korea designated three maritime areas that could be affected by the planned satellite launch: two off the Yellow Sea in waters southwest of North Korea and the third east of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean, both outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, or its EEZ.

Seoul's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it issued a navigation warning for vessels early Tuesday before the expected launch per procedures under the International Maritime Organization.

When asked about the possible timing of North Korea's latest satellite launch, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Jeon Ha-kyu told reporters on Tuesday that for the previous two attempts, the launches were made on the first day of Pyongyang's notice period, specifically at dawn.

"We are looking at that possibility, and we also need to look at the weather conditions," Jeon said.

The North's botched first and second satellite launches occurred at 6:29 a.m. on May 31 and 3:50 a.m. on Aug. 24. Pyongyang quickly admitted that both launches had failed.

North Korea initially planned to make a third launch attempt in October but didn't follow through, prompting speculation that Pyongyang might need more time and could be seeking necessary help from Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his intentions to help develop North Korea's satellite program at a rare summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a spaceport in Russia's Far East in September.

On Monday, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) warned the North to "immediately" halt preparations for another military spy satellite launch, saying it would take unspecified "necessary" response if Pyongyang persists with such a move.

On Tuesday, the South Korean Ministry of Unification again urged North Korea to cease its planned rocket launch, stressing it will take necessary follow-up measures and respond in cooperation with the United States and Japan.

A ministry official told reporters in Seoul that North's launch of a military spy satellite violates UN Security Council resolutions banning the use of ballistic missile technology, warning that such a move would be "an act of provocation that seriously threatens not only our security but that of the entire region."

Matthew Miller, the Pentagon spokesman, also reiterated U.S. concerns about arms deals and the transfer of technology between Russia and North Korea.

Miller told a press briefing in Washington on Monday that the United States has been clear that "Russia should not supply North Korea with technology" that would violate UN resolutions and "North Korea should not supply Russia with arms that it can use to prosecute its war of aggression against Ukraine."

The remarks came as U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Monday to underscore Washington's steadfast support for Kyiv as it defends itself from Moscow's aggression.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday that Aegis-equipped destroyers and PAC-3 missile defense systems are standing by in Okinawa in case of an unexpected development.

Japan is the area coordinator for Navarea XI, a geographical sea area established to coordinate the broadcast of navigational warnings, with the Japanese coast guard acting as the executing agency to release navigation and safety warnings for the area, to which South and North Korea belong.

Seoul hinted at the possibility of suspending the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement if Pyongyang goes ahead and launches a spy satellite.

“There is a clause stating that any matter agreed upon between the two Koreas can be in effect suspended, in part or in its entirety, if a serious reason, including national security, arises,” a senior presidential official told reporters in London on Tuesday.

The military agreement aimed at reducing inter-Korean border tensions was signed by the Koreas' defense ministers on Sept. 19, 2018, during President Moon Jae-in's third summit with North Korean leader Kim in Pyongyang.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]