ID :
50296
Thu, 03/12/2009 - 22:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/50296
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N. Korea gives notice of satellite launch in early April
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea gave a notice that it will launch a satellite between April 4-8, an international agency said Thursday, prompting brisk talks among regional countries to prepare their coordinated measures.
Pyongyang's state media said earlier in the day that it has informed the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) of the planned launch, without specifying the date.
The IMO confirmed it has received a letter from Pyongyang that said the launch
would be between April 4-8.
"IMO can confirm that it has received a communication from the Democratic
Peoples' Republic of Korea concerning the intended launch of an experimental
communications satellite," the London-based agency said in an emailed statement.
The letter from "the North Korean maritime administration in Pyongyang" was
received on Wednesday London time, the IMO spokesman Lee Adamson said over the
telepohone. The IMO will soon issue safety guidelines for ships and member
countries, he said.
Seoul officials said the North Korean rocket would be directed over the East Sea
and the Pacific, citing information on the orbiting coordinates they received
from the international agencies earlier Thursday.
"We have received information from the IMO about when the launch will be, the
planned launch of an experimental communications satellite and the zones to be
affected," said Kim Hae-gwang, an official at the Ministry of Land, Transport and
Maritime Affairs.
A government source, requesting anonymity, said there are no signs of an imminent
launch, but that North Korea will be technically ready for the launch by early
next month.
North Korea said on Thursday it has joined two international treaties for space
development -- the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the
Exploration and Use of Outer Space including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies,
and the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
The entry was not necessary. Non-member states can also launch a satellite.
"The DPRK's accession to the said treaty and convention will contribute to
promoting international confidence and boosting cooperation in scientific
research into space and the satellite launch for peaceful purposes," the North's
Korean Central News Agency said.
Paik Hak-soon, an analyst with the independent Sejong Institute in Seoul, said
North Korea is taking a safe route by following international procedures. If
successful, the launch will virtually declare North Korea, which conducted its
first atomic test in 2006, a nuclear state that has both nuclear weapons and the
means to launch them.
"Through this process of notification, it is trying to avoid a bad image as well
as international sanctions," Paik said.
Paik also noted North Korea may have carefully timed the launch to amplify its
effect on internal politics. In April, North Korea celebrates a series of
important events. Leader Kim Jong-il was appointed as chairman of the National
Defense Commission, the highest decision-making body that oversees the country's
1.19-million strong military, on April 9, 1993.
One of the nation's biggest holidays -- the birthday of Kim's late father and
North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung -- falls on April 15.
Neighboring countries were unanimously opposed to the North Korean satellite
launch, but there were signs of a rift in handling it.
South Korean officials said the launch -- whether it is a satellite or a missile
-- would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution banning the North's ballistic
missile activity. The resolution was adopted after its nuclear and missile tests
in 2006.
"Based on cooperation with pertinent nations, our government will continue to
urge North Korea to suspend its tension-raising activities, including a missile
launch," Unification Minister Hyun In-taek told a parliament committee on
Thursday.
But Russia took a more cautious stance.
"Let us see when things really happen, and then make conclusions and assessment,"
Russia's Vice Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin, who serves as Moscow's chief
nuclear envoy, told Yonhap after meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu
Myung-hwan in Seoul.
The U.S. appeared to be retreating from its earlier position that it was ready to
intercept a ballistic missile from North Korea.
"I wouldn't get into what, if any, preparations we make to deal with that
possibility," Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters on Wednesday.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said both the U.S. and China agree the
rocket launch would be a violation of the U.N. resolution and urged North Korea
to refrain from the rocket launch.
"I think that our partners in the six-party talks are concerned about the missile
launch," Clinton said after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
Japanese military officials have been weighing whether to shoot down the North
Korean rocket.
Regional countries suspect North Korea may launch a long-range missile under the
cloak of a satellite launch. Officials say the technologies involved in launching
a missile and a satellite are virtually the same.
Earlier this week, the North's military warned that any foreign attempt to shoot
down the rocket would lead to a war on the Korean Peninsula, insisting it has the
full right to peaceful space development.
SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea gave a notice that it will launch a satellite between April 4-8, an international agency said Thursday, prompting brisk talks among regional countries to prepare their coordinated measures.
Pyongyang's state media said earlier in the day that it has informed the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) of the planned launch, without specifying the date.
The IMO confirmed it has received a letter from Pyongyang that said the launch
would be between April 4-8.
"IMO can confirm that it has received a communication from the Democratic
Peoples' Republic of Korea concerning the intended launch of an experimental
communications satellite," the London-based agency said in an emailed statement.
The letter from "the North Korean maritime administration in Pyongyang" was
received on Wednesday London time, the IMO spokesman Lee Adamson said over the
telepohone. The IMO will soon issue safety guidelines for ships and member
countries, he said.
Seoul officials said the North Korean rocket would be directed over the East Sea
and the Pacific, citing information on the orbiting coordinates they received
from the international agencies earlier Thursday.
"We have received information from the IMO about when the launch will be, the
planned launch of an experimental communications satellite and the zones to be
affected," said Kim Hae-gwang, an official at the Ministry of Land, Transport and
Maritime Affairs.
A government source, requesting anonymity, said there are no signs of an imminent
launch, but that North Korea will be technically ready for the launch by early
next month.
North Korea said on Thursday it has joined two international treaties for space
development -- the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the
Exploration and Use of Outer Space including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies,
and the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
The entry was not necessary. Non-member states can also launch a satellite.
"The DPRK's accession to the said treaty and convention will contribute to
promoting international confidence and boosting cooperation in scientific
research into space and the satellite launch for peaceful purposes," the North's
Korean Central News Agency said.
Paik Hak-soon, an analyst with the independent Sejong Institute in Seoul, said
North Korea is taking a safe route by following international procedures. If
successful, the launch will virtually declare North Korea, which conducted its
first atomic test in 2006, a nuclear state that has both nuclear weapons and the
means to launch them.
"Through this process of notification, it is trying to avoid a bad image as well
as international sanctions," Paik said.
Paik also noted North Korea may have carefully timed the launch to amplify its
effect on internal politics. In April, North Korea celebrates a series of
important events. Leader Kim Jong-il was appointed as chairman of the National
Defense Commission, the highest decision-making body that oversees the country's
1.19-million strong military, on April 9, 1993.
One of the nation's biggest holidays -- the birthday of Kim's late father and
North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung -- falls on April 15.
Neighboring countries were unanimously opposed to the North Korean satellite
launch, but there were signs of a rift in handling it.
South Korean officials said the launch -- whether it is a satellite or a missile
-- would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution banning the North's ballistic
missile activity. The resolution was adopted after its nuclear and missile tests
in 2006.
"Based on cooperation with pertinent nations, our government will continue to
urge North Korea to suspend its tension-raising activities, including a missile
launch," Unification Minister Hyun In-taek told a parliament committee on
Thursday.
But Russia took a more cautious stance.
"Let us see when things really happen, and then make conclusions and assessment,"
Russia's Vice Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin, who serves as Moscow's chief
nuclear envoy, told Yonhap after meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu
Myung-hwan in Seoul.
The U.S. appeared to be retreating from its earlier position that it was ready to
intercept a ballistic missile from North Korea.
"I wouldn't get into what, if any, preparations we make to deal with that
possibility," Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters on Wednesday.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said both the U.S. and China agree the
rocket launch would be a violation of the U.N. resolution and urged North Korea
to refrain from the rocket launch.
"I think that our partners in the six-party talks are concerned about the missile
launch," Clinton said after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
Japanese military officials have been weighing whether to shoot down the North
Korean rocket.
Regional countries suspect North Korea may launch a long-range missile under the
cloak of a satellite launch. Officials say the technologies involved in launching
a missile and a satellite are virtually the same.
Earlier this week, the North's military warned that any foreign attempt to shoot
down the rocket would lead to a war on the Korean Peninsula, insisting it has the
full right to peaceful space development.
