Japan mistakenly reports N Korea rocket launch

Seoul: A Japanese public broadcaster, citing the government, briefly reported that North Korea appeared to have launched a rocket.

Osamu Sakashita, a spokesman for the prime minister's office, later said the information reported on Saturday by NHK was incorrect.

The world is closely watching North Korea as it says rocket launch preparations complete, liftoff coming "soon".

The Defence Ministry said "wrong information" went out after a military radar picked up a signal in the Sea of Japan.

A military statement said, "We are investigating what the radar really caught."