Japanese armed forces received order to shoot down ballistic missiles tested North Korea 0504141.

Defence & Security News - Japan

Japan’s defense minister has ordered the Japanese Armed Forces to shoot down any North Korean ballistic missiles that are tested in the coming weeks, Reuters reported on Saturday, April 5, 2014.

According to the Reuters report, which cited an unidentified government source, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera issued the order on Thursday, which directed the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces (JMSDF) to shoot down any missiles that North Korea launches between April 3 and April 25. An Aegis destroyer has been deployed to the Sea of Japan to carry out the order, the report said.

The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin. It uses powerful computer and radar technology to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets.

Over the past four weeks, North Korea has conducted multiple launches of short-range Scud missiles and rockets to coincide with the annual joint military drills South Korea is conducting with the United States

In March 2014, North Korea launched Rodong ballistic missiles, which have the range to hit Tokyo or U.S. bases in Okinawa, Japan. South Korea responded to the rocket launches by scrambling F-15K fighter jets and lobbing 300 shells into North Korean waters.

Residents on five front-line South Korean islands spent several hours in shelters during the firing, and ferry service linking the islands to the mainland was temporarily halted, according to reports.

In November 2010, North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong Island just south of the sea boundary, killing four people and triggering concerns of a full-scale conflict.

The maritime boundary is not recognized by Pyongyang, which argues it was unilaterally drawn by U.S.-led United Nations forces after the 1950-53 Korean War.