WASHINGTON, D.C.: The United States has deployd naval ships equipped with ballistic missile defenses and is monitoring North Korea “very closely” ahead of an anticipated rocket launch, the head of US Pacific Command said.

It was “logical” for US naval ships in the region to track North Korea’s launch and “to the degree that those ships are capable of participating in ballistic missile defense, then we’ll position them to be able to do that,” Admiral Samuel Locklear told a Pentagon news conference.

The US Navy took a similar approach during the last North Korean launch.

Two guided missile destroyers, the USS Benfold and the USS Fitzgerald, have been sent to the area ahead of the launch, a Navy official said. The two ships were moving in to “monitor any potential missile launch by North Korea and to reassure regional allies should a launch occur.”

Both destroyers are equipped with the sophisticated Aegis ballistic missile defense system.

Locklear, who commands US forces in the Asia-Pacific region, added that US forces would also be tracking any stray parts that might fall from the rocket.

Japan on Friday issued the order to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it threatens the nation’s territory.

Tokyo has readied surface-to-air missiles in and around Tokyo, as well as in Okinawa, and is putting its armed forces on standby ahead of Pyongyang’s planned missile launch. It is also deploying Aegis warships in neighboring waters.

Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto has told forces to destroy the projectile or any parts that look set to fall on Japanese territory, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters.

Pyongyang has announced it will conduct between December 10 and 22 its second long-range rocket launch this year, after a much-hyped but failed attempt in April.

The North says it will be a purely “peaceful, scientific” mission aimed at placing an Earth observation satellite into orbit. But the United States and its allies insist the launches are disguised tests for an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

Locklear said North Korea Korea has steadily improved its missile technology but it was unclear whether this month’s test would be successful.

“I think they have progressively gained better technology over time through a number of methods, a number of years and decades,” Locklear said. “To the degree that they would be more successful than they were last time in such a short period of time and what they’ve done to correct it, I can’t tell you.”

United Nations (UN) diplomats inside and outside the Security Council have started consultations behind the scenes on what action to take if Pyongyang goes ahead with the launch, Kyodo News reported.

Japan, the United States and South Korea have agreed to demand the UN Security Council boost sanctions on North Korea to levels that match those on Iran, the Asahi Shimbun daily said. That would include increasing the list of financial institutions, entities and individuals that are subject to asset freezes, it said.