Japan to keep alert over DPRK's rocket launch

TOKYO  - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Sunday that the government would keep alert over a rocket launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) which suggested it may postpone the launch.

Noda said in a TV program that the government has not yet confirmed the delay and will take any possible measures to deal with the launch.

The DPRK said Saturday that the scheduled time for the satellite launch will be readjusted.

"Our scientists and technicians are now seriously examining the issues of readjusting the launching time of the satellite for some reasons," DPRK's official news agency KCNA quoted a spokesmen for the Korean Committee for Space Technology as saying.

The DPRK planned to launch a rocket between December 10 and 22 to put a satellite into orbit. However, some countries fear that the launch is actually a test of a long-range ballistic missile.

Japan has completed deployment of its Self-Defense Forces on Saturday to prevent any wreckage of the satellite launch from falling into Japanese territory.