Roundup: Japan to adopt resolution to protest DPRK's rocket launch, maintains alert level for further tests

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday once again denounced the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) launch of a long range rocket on Sunday as being in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, as bipartisan lawmakers plan to convene on Tuesday to adopt a resolution protesting the launch.

Speaking at a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) liaison meeting, Abe once again condemned what he called the firing of a long-range ballistic missile and said that Japan would take"resolute measures"such as the imminent strengthening of its own sanctions against Pyongyang.

The Japanese leader, calling the launch"absolutely unacceptable"and in"clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions,"added that the launch of the long range rocket was also a"clear thereat to Japan's national security."

Abe said that Japan was liaising effectively with the United States on the issue, while his top government spokesperson, Yoshihide Suga, said that investigations into what the DPRK has possibly put into orbit were ongoing, and welcomed moves agreed between the U.S. and South Korea to begin talks on deploying an antimissile defense system.

"I believe it will take some time to analyze whether North Korea has put a certain kind of object into orbit. It will also take some time to study the details of it,"Suga said, adding that the deployment of a missile defense system on the inter-Korean border could enhance peace and security in the region.

Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, meanwhile, told a press briefing Monday that swift actions were necessary from the UN Security Council and that Japan would continue to cooperate with its allies over the issue.

"The launch has heightened the need to accelerate talks at the UN Security Council and to swiftly adopt a strong resolution against North Korea. Japan will further strengthen cooperation with related countries such as the United States and South Korea to that end," the foreign minister said.

Natsuo Yamaguchi, president of the LDP's Komeito ally, for his part, said Monday that the DPRK's actions were"absolutely intolerable"and that Japan-specific sanctions should be explored, but added that "comprehensive dialogue between Japan, the United States and South Korea, in close cooperation with other relevant countries such as China and Russia, should continue, with the aim of strongly encouraging the DPRK to abandon its nuclear and missile advancement programs."

Six-party talks, which involve South Korea,the DPRK, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, which have been aimed at the DPRK abandoning its nuclear ambitions, stalled in 2008.

Some stakeholders are calling for the resumption of such talks, especially in light of the DPRK testing a hydrogen bomb on Jan. 6, despite international denunciation.

Secretly General of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Yuki Edano said separately Monday that the government of Japan should lead the way in seeking fresh UN Security Council resolutions against Pyongyang in the wake of the DPRK's launch and nuclear test, as well as impose Japan's own unilateral measures.

Edano added, however, that measures should be taken to ensure that the issue pertaining to the DPRK's abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s is also comprehensively resolved.

Critics of Japan's plans to slap fresh sanctions on Pyongyang have said that the unilateral punitive measures could further stall the unresolved abduction process.

Both ruling and opposition party representatives confirmed Monday that a plenary session of each of Japan's parliamentary caucuses will convene Tuesday to adopt the new resolution in protest of the launch.

Both political camps, including the LDP and DPJ, have issued statements condemning the DPRK's launch as being in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, as well as its nuclear test last month as being a threat to global security.

Abe is pushing for the government here to swiftly move to tighten sanctions on Pyongyang in the wake of the launch, possibly ahead of new punitive measures that might be adopted by the UN Security Council.

Japan has officially lodged a protest against the DPRK's launch through its diplomatic channels in Beijing as the DPRK is banned from test-firing any rockets based on a ballistic missile technology under UN Security Council resolutions. Such a test has not been conducted by the DPRK since 2012.

The government is mulling reinstating sanctions on Pyongyang, some of which were lifted in the summer of 2014, including banning senior officials of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, (known also as Chongryon), from re-entering Japan after visiting the DPRK.

Additional punitive measures could involve remittances made to the DPRK from Japan that must be reported to the government here being returned to pre-sanction levels of 3 million yen (25,656 U.S. dollars) from 30 million yen (256,560 U.S. dollars). Government sources have said that the sanction could, however, be widened further, and possibly include the restriction or ban of oil exports to the DPRK.

The government here has been conducting investigations into whether or not debris from the DPRK's rocket fell into Japanese territory but has said there have been no reports of injury based on the launch or falling parts from the rocket as of early this morning.

Japan remains on high alert however, and its battery of land and sea-based missile interceptors will remain in place, with Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani saying Monday that his ministry would likely maintain and extend its order to intercept any further missiles launched from the DPRK that head into Japanese territory.

Local experts confirmed Monday that the DPRK's rocket was likely a more powerful version than the Taepodong-2 ballistic missile that was fired in December 2012.

Daido University President Akira Sawaoka, an expert in space engineering, was quoted by local media on Monday as saying that the timing of the stages of the rocket falling away, compared to previous launches, indicated the rocket had a more powerful engine and consumed more fuel than its predecessors.

Other experts have said that early investigations also suggest the rocket's payload has also been increased, which has added to the consternation of Japan's defense ministry.

Nakatani said Monday that investigations into the "nature of the rocket" were underway, in twine with South Korea and the United States.

Pyongyang has claimed that Sunday's launch was it exercising its right to use space for peaceful purposes, stating that it has successfully put an earth-observation satellite into orbit. Japan maintains, however, that the launch was a de-facto test of banned ballistic missile technology. Endit