(VOVworld) – On Thursday, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper said the Japanese government is establishing a system to constantly keep track of satellites launched by other countries, including North Korea.

North Korea launches a rocket. (Photo: Youtube)

The Japanese Ministry of Defense said the system, which uses radar and optical telescopes, will be operational before the end of fiscal 2022. The system costs 200 million JPY, or about 2 million USD, of this fiscal year’s budget.

Japan keeps track of North Korea’s military facilities using intelligence-gathering satellites, but it depends on the US military’s early-warning satellites and spy satellites in the event of unexpected incidents, such as North Korea’s ballistic missile launches. By setting up a monitoring network, the Japanese government aims to reinforce its information-gathering system on North Korea and to further security intelligence sharing with the United States.