Pyongyang has announced it will launch a satellite-bearing rocket sometime between February 8-25, which is around the time of the birthday on February 16 of late leader Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.
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Pyongyang’s announcement Tuesday of its rocket plan was greeted by a global chorus of anger and concern, with sharp criticism from South Korea, Japan and the United States, already angry over the North’s fourth underground nuclear test early last month.
“We understand the DPRK (North Korea) has notified several United Nations agencies that it intends to launch a satellite in the coming days”.
The UN has passed a series of resolutions banning North Korea from developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technologies.
The UN Security Council called it a “clear violation” of resolutions banning North Korea from missiles tests, and imposed sanctions.
China is North Korea’s sole main ally though China disapproves of its nuclear program. “We hope all sides show restraint and take prudent action”, said China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, “to avoid any moves that may increase the tensions on the [Korean] Peninsula”.
“Right now, we’re carefully monitoring developments and are in close touch with the interested parties and the worldwide organizations”, Haq said at United Nations headquarters in NY.
North Korea claims the launch is of a rocket to put an Earth observation satellite into orbit and that it has the sovereign right to explore and exploit space.
China, North Korea’s economic lifeblood, has said it is committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but believes the best way to achieve this is through consultations and negotiations.
(Mandarin) “There were two aspects, one was bilateral relations between China and North Korea including all kinds of issues in China and North Korean relations”. The North also told worldwide agencies before that launch of its plans.
A model of the Unha 3 space launch vehicle is displayed at the Sci-Tech Complex in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016.
Moon, however, did not provide any details of the intelligence, saying he can not confirm or deny a Japanese report that a mobile launcher loaded with a ballistic missile was seen moving along North Korea’s east coast. The South, Japan and the United States, however, would also have an opportunity to test new hardware, should the North launch.
Chang wondered if the North Koreans and Iranians could be so proud of successfully testing such a missile that they dropped all pretense of a “satellite launch”, and whether “a bold statement of that sort might even get the no-pulse John Kerry to do something about North Korea’s troublesome weapons programs”.
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Experts suggest the launch may be an attempt by North Korea to improve rocket accuracy, and develop the ability to re-enter the atmosphere with a payload.
