Philippines call N. Luzon on alert for falling DPRK rocket debris

MANILA  -- The Philippine government alerted Wednesday morning residents in east of northern Luzon in northern Philippines where debris of the long-range rocket of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) could fall.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, in a television interview, said that the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) continues to monitor the situation.

"We hope that there will be no damage that will be incurred to our fellow Filipinos (from the rocket launch)," he said.

NDRRMC executive secretary Benito Ramos said that the area being monitored is 200 nautical miles east of northern Luzon from Santa Ana town in Cagayan province to Polillo Island in Quezon province.

He said his office received confirmation from the Defense Attache in South Korea that DPRK launched its rocket at 8:49 am (Philippine local time).

Local media Interaksyon quoted Ramos as saying that parts of the rocket fell 300 kilometers east of Northern Luzon just 20 minutes after the DPRK launched the rocket at 8:49 am. The falling debris caused no casualties.