The three countries have deployed destroyers and surveillance aircraft with advanced radar systems to track and intercept the long-range rocket.
North Korea announced its intention to fire the rocket Saturday and notified countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan of its launch and path.
The first-stage propulsion rocket is expected to separate and fall into the sea some 140 kilometers west of South Korea’s Buan, North Jeolla Province, and the second-stage into the sea 136 kilometers east of the Philippines, analysts said.
By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)