Japanese Defence Force soldiers load Patriot missiles onto a ship setting sail to the southern Okinawa islands ahead of a North Korean rocket launch.<br/> <br />The isolated and impoverished country announced on Saturday that it planned to launch a rocket some time in the next three weeks, despite a U.N. ban on such activities.<br/> <br />North Korea says the rocket is boosting a satellite into orbit, but Washington and Seoul believe it is testing intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.<br/> <br />Japan believes the rocket will pass over Japanese territory above the Okinawa islands and is preparing to intercept it, should the missile stray off its path.<br/> <br />In an effort to ease tensions, South Korea hosted a meeting on Monday with representatives from the U.S., Japan, China and Russia.<br/> <br />Earlier South Korea's unification ministry called on North Korean officials to halt the rocket launch.<br/> <br />China, a long-time ally of North Korea, echoed the South's statement and asked regional neighbours to prevent the situation from worsening.<br/> <br />North Korea failed to launch a similar rocket in April on the 100th anniversary of the birth of the country's founder.
