North Korea did not try to launch a military reconnaissance satellite in October, despite previously announcing that it would.

Following its second unsuccessful attempt in August, Pyongyang had said it would conduct a third launch in October after determining the cause of the failure.

Some officials of the Japanese government say that Pyongyang may be proceeding cautiously to avoid a third consecutive failure or it may be taking time to receive technological support from Russia.

There is also the view that Pyongyang will carry out another launch in November or December in order to chalk up a success by the end of the year.

The Japanese government plans to take all possible steps to prepare for a launch. The measures include deploying Aegis destroyers in the East China Sea, and the land-based PAC-3 interceptor systems in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan.