In stark contrast to reports that Japan has ordered its military to prepare to shoot-down a North Korean rocket if it threatens their national territory, Russia has today said it has no plans to put its missile defense forces on high alert. And unlike ROK and U.S. forces also on high alert, Russian Aerospace Defence Troops remain off-alert, instead having plans to monitor the upcoming launch of North Korea’s rocket from afar.

With a planned trajectory due south, North Korea’s rocket launch seems unlikely to enter Russian Chinese aerospace.  Answering a question by Interfax-AVN on whether missile units of the Air