Tokyo - Japan on Friday readied for North Korea's planned rocket launch, ordering its military to destroy any fragments that might fall in its territory if the launch goes wrong.

   Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada's orders came after the nation's Security Council met earlier in the day as North Korea prepares for what it said is a satellite launch between April 4 and 8, news reports said.

   "No matter what it takes, we must prevent any harm from being inflicted on our citizens," Prime Minister Taro Aso was quoted as saying at the meeting.

   North Korea's regional neighbours and the United States believe the launch is a smokescreen for testing Pyongyang's long-range Taepodong-2 ballistic missile.

   "It's important to deal with and eliminate the North Korean projectile should it threaten people's security and safety by falling into our airspace, waters or soil," the Japanese defence minister said.

   A government spokesman called on the public to stay calm but cautious and mindful to any media information on fallen debris as the government is concerned debris might land in the north-east of the country.

   North Korea informed international agencies of the rocket's planned trajectory, which would take it over Japan.

   This week, Pyongyang threatened its immediate pullout from international talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme should the United Nations impose more sanctions in reaction to the launch.

   South Korea and the United States said the launch would violate a 2006 UN Security Council resolution.

   US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned North Korea there would be consequences if the Stalinist state went ahead with a planned long-range missile launch.

   A launch would be regarded as a "provocative act" that would not go unnoticed, she added.

   It the first time Japan prepared to counter threats posed by a ballistic missile or similar object since the country began building a ballistic missile shield in 2003, the Kyodo News Agency said. The Defence Ministry was to begin setting up its four Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptors Friday at five locations in the north of Japan and at Tokyo's Ichigaya base, the headquarters of its Self-Defence Forces.

   In addition, two Aegis destroyers with interceptors were to be dispatched from southern Japan to the Sea of Japan.

   North Korea launched a Taepodong-1 missile in August 1998, part of which crossed over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean. The launch accelerated Japanese moves to build a missile shield based on US concepts.

   The shield sports sea-launched SM-3 missiles to intercept a warhead outside the Earth's atmosphere. If they miss, a ground-launched PAC-3 missile could intercept the payload as it re-enters the atmosphere.