NHK cited an unnamed diplomatic source who said it was confirmed that mobile missile launchers carrying ballistic missiles were seen moving near the region. It also conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, triggering condemnation from the global community.
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Dujarric said the secretary-general “stands ready to help to reduce tensions and facilitate reconciliation and dialogue”. The reason that the North Korean regime is pressing forward with a rocket launch despite its knowledge of these facts is because its priority is the political advantages of internal cohesion.
The IMO reports that Pyongyang’s notification is for a multi-stage rocket launch between 7am and noontime local time, at a yet undetermined date between February 8 and 25. Supplemented with the technology to insert a nuclear warhead back into the atmosphere, such a rocket could become a strategic weapon aimed at the USA or other countries.
Another successful launch will likely intensify debate in the US and South Korea on how to tackle the missile threat, potentially increasing tension with China, North Korea’s only major ally.
Beijing on Wednesday urged restraint over North Korea’s announcement of its launch plans, and expressed skepticism over the USA calls for tough new sanctions.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said they discussed “bilateral relations and the current situation on the Korean Peninsula” without elaborating.
North Korea is rumored to be working on a ballistic missile that could be used against the United States.
This suggests that the North is preparing for a space launch in coming weeks, according to 38 North, a North Korea-focused Web site run by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Still, China’s patience with North Korea’s snubs and provocations has its limits, said Jin Linbo, a Korea expert at the China Institute of International Studies.
North Korea has described the launch of satellites as part of its space development program.
United Nations deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said North Korea informed the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Telecommunication Union of its launch plans.
Meanwhile, China’s special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs, Wu Dawei, arrived in Pyongyang on February 2 for talks with the North Korean government.
Japan has pledged to shoot down any missile that encroaches on its territory.
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Analysts say the North’s recent nuclear and missile activity could be a build-up to the upcoming seventh party congress – the first to be held since 1980 – where leader Kim Jong-un is expected to show off the nuclear programme.
