A Japan Self-Defence Forces soldier stands guard near the missiles in Tokyo

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Amid reports North Korea is preparing a missile launch or another nuclear test, Japan has today deployed PAC-3 missile interceptors in key locations around Tokyo.



Japan's defense minister has also reportedly put destroyers with missile interception systems on alert in the Sea of Japan.



"As North Korea keeps making provocative comments, Japan, co-operating with relevant countries, will do what we have to do," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said today.



"The government is making utmost efforts to protect our people’s lives and ensure their safety," he added.



Japan’s armed forces are authorised to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory, a defence ministry spokesman said.



"We are doing all we can to protect the safety of our nation," chief Cabinet spokesman Yoshihide Suga said, though he and Ministry of Defense officials refused to confirm reports of a naval alert, saying they do not want to "show their cards" to North Korea.

Japan's defense minister has reportedly put destroyers with missile interception systems on alert

We are doing all we can to protect the safety of our nation Japan's chief Cabinet spokesman Yoshihide Suga

North Korea, meanwhile, issued a new threat against Japan.



"We once again warn Japan against blindly toeing the U.S. policy," a high-ranking North Korean said.



"It will have to pay a dear price for its imprudent behavior."

South Korean soldiers of an artillery unit move to conduct military training near the border

Following North Korea's third nuclear test in February, Japanese experts have increasingly voiced concerns that North Korea may already be able to hit — or at least target — U.S. bases and major population centers with nuclear warheads loaded onto its medium-range Rodong missiles.



"The threat level has jumped" following the nuclear test, said Narushige Michishita, a former Ministry of Defense official and director of the Security and International Studies Program at Tokyo's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. Unlike North Korea's still-under-construction intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, program, its arsenal of about 300 deployed Rodong missiles has reportedly been flight tested and is thought to have a range of about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles).



These missiles are said to be powerful enough to reach Tokyo and key U.S. military bases — including Yokota Air Base, which is the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Air Force; Yokosuka Naval Base, where the USS George Washington aircraft carrier and its battle group are home-based; and Misawa Air Base, a key launching point for U.S. F-16 fighters.

State media has released images of North Korean soldiers training as tensions escalate