Japan sounds warning over North Korea’s third attempt to launch spy satellite

Nuclear-armed state plans its first launch since Kim Jong-un visited Russia, where Vladimir Putin promised to help him build satellites

North Korea has notified Japan it plans a fresh attempt to launch a satellite into space at some point between Thursday and 1 December, prompting immediate condemnation from Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida.

Japan’s coast guard said on Tuesday it had been informed that the trajectory of the rocket would take it in the direction of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. If carried out, it would probably mark a third attempt by the nuclear-armed state this year to put a spy satellite into orbit.