North Korea says its rocket launches are satellite missions, but the U.S., South Korea and others say they are a covert test of ballistic missile technology.
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Since Thursday, satellite images have shown increased movement of people and equipment around the launch pad and a fuel storehouse at North Korea’s Sohae satellite launch complex in the country’s northwest, the official said, according to the Washington-datelined report.
North Korea said it had successfully placed a satellite into orbit. The satellite has been identified as the Kwangmyongsong-4, which was named after Kim Jong Un’s late father and predecessor Kim Jong Il.
North Korea’s last long-range rocket launch, in 2012, put what it called a communications satellite into orbit, but no signal has ever been detected from it.
Mr McCully said the launch went against the UN Security Council resolutions demanding that North Korea cease any launches using ballistic missile technology.
The UN Security Council is to convene a closed-door emergency session to discuss the launch.
North Korea has said that its most recent nuclear test, its fourth, was a hydrogen bomb.
Stressing the need for a firm and united response, Kerry called for measures that makes clear the determination of the global community to address the pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities by the DPRK.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye called the launch an “intolerable provocation”.
The launch “is yet another example of the North Korean regime choosing militarism and isolation over the welfare of its own people”, said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
South Korea has said it has agreed to begin talks with Washington on possible deployment of an advanced United States missile defense system. North Korea has previously staged rocket launches to mark important anniversaries.
“North Korea continues to develop their nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, and it is the responsibility of our alliance to maintain a strong defense against those threats”, Scaparrotti said in the joint statement.
It said the North Korean rocket was launched at 9:31 a.m. Japan time.
China expressed regret and called on all sides to act cautiously and refrain from taking steps that might further raise tension on the Korean peninsula.
The rocket was launched from North Korea’s west coast only two hours after an eight-day launch window opened Sunday morning, its path tracked separately by the United States, Japan and South Korea.
Japan’s NHK broadcaster reported that the Japanese government said the rocket passed over the southern Japanese island of Okinawa but no anti-missiles were fired.
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The Philippines, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, has condemned Democratic Republic of North Korea’s (DPRK) launch of another long-range rocket on Sunday. Six-nation negotiations on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program in exchange for aid fell apart in early 2009.
