Intelligence

DATE=03/27/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=JAPAN/SATELLITE LAUNCH (S)

NUMBER=2-301423

BYLINE=AMY BICKERS

DATELINE=TOKYO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Japan has launched its first two spy satellites from the island of Tanegashima, one-thousand kilometers southwest of Tokyo. V-O-A's Amy Bickers reports, the launch comes amid mounting fears of a North Korean ballistic missile test.

TEXT: /// LAUNCH SOUND FOR :05, FADE ///

A black and orange H-2-A rocket blasted off at 10:27 a-m local time Friday, carrying Japan's first two reconnaissance satellites into space.

The satellites will be used for multiple purposes, including spying on North Korea, which has alarmed Japan with a series of acts that Tokyo views as highly provocative. They include restarting banned nuclear facilities and withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

In 1998, North Korea launched a long-range missile over Japan, catching Tokyo, and its ally, the United States, by surprise. That launch prompted Japan to accelerate its program to develop independent

surveillance capabilities, easing its reliance on U-S intelligence data.

North Korea has strongly protested the launch, and has warned that it violates the spirit of a bilateral pact signed last September. In Japan, there are concerns that the North will respond to Friday's launch with a

new ballistic missile test, although the government says it has no proof of such a plan. (SIGNED)

NEB/HK/AB/KPD/TW