Japan is preparing its armed forces to shoot down potential North Korean satellite debris as Pyongyang prepares yet another provocative rocket launch, which could again bring Japan under threat.

This time Kim Jong Un is saying the country will soon launch its first military spy satellite into orbit, at an unspecified date. On Tuesday Kim previewed that he will soon deploy an operational military reconnaissance satellite, necessary to effectively the DPRK's nuclear-capable missiles.

Kim said further that it is necessary in thwarting the serious security threats posed by "the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action" of the US and South Korea.

In response Japan, which has already seen North Korean missiles recently fly over the island or into waters close to the country, is putting its missile interceptor units on high alert, in the scenario of spy satellite fragments from a possible failed launch or failed orbit falling down into Japanese territory.

According to details in The Associated Press: 

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Saturday instructed troops to ready PAC-3 surface-to-air missiles in southwestern Japan, including Okinawa and nearby islands, in an area believed to be under a flight path of a North Korean rocket that will carry the satellite.

He also ordered the deployment of destroyers equipped with SM-3 ship-to-air missiles to coastal waters, according to a ministry statement.

The ministry confirmed that "We are making the necessary preparation because of a possibility of issuing an order to destroy ballistic missiles and other objects."

North Korea says its latest spate of missile tests, which included the test-firing of a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time last week, is in response to major joint US-South Korean drills which threaten the peace and stability of the region. 

Given the current tensions, Japan is leaving nothing to chance, and preparing for more unpredictable rocket launches out of North Korea at any moment.