N. Korea vows to launch self-claimed satellite despite protests

SEOUL, March 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea vowed on Sunday to go ahead with its plan to launch what it called a "satellite" despite outside protests, claiming that it has the right to do so.

Regional tension has gone up significantly in recent weeks, with North Korea
moving to fire what it clams is a satellite, although U.S. and South Korean
officials believe it will likely be a long-range missile.
"Carrying out with a launching of a satellite is our duly given right that cannot
be stopped by anyone," said Tongil Shinbo, a pro-North Korean weekly magazine in
Japan that is widely viewed as the communist country's overseas propaganda
outlet.
"The right to launch an artificial satellite or a missile is not reserved only to
particular countries," the magazine said, arguing that such matters should be
decided by individual countries.
The magazine said that North Korea will carry out the launch no matter how much
the international community "makes a fuss about it."
The magazine also accused South Korea of distorting the North's "satellite" plan
as preparations for test-firing a long-range missile.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)