A Japanese daily says Japan is considering intercepting a North Korean rocket over land or sea if it veers off course and enters Japanese airspace.

The Sankei Shimbun says the Tokyo government is mulling deploying a Patriot missile launcher and radar equipment to mainland Okinawa and Ishigakijima, Okinawa prefecture’s third largest isle.

North Korea recently announced it will launch a long-range rocket carrying an earth observation satellite next month.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has expressed concern about the forecast that the North Korean rocket's second-stage projectile will fall in its eastern waters.

The Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario stressed that the satellite launch would not trigger insecurity in the region.

North Korea has notified the International Maritime Organization that its first-stage rocket will fall in the Yellow Sea and the second-stage rocket in waters east of the Philippines.