Int'l agency confirms N. Korean notice of satellite launch in early April

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SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- An international maritime agency confirmed Thursday
it has received a letter from North Korea saying it will launch a satellite
between April 4-8.
Pyongyang's state media said earlier in the day it has notified the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization
(IMO) of the planned launch.
The North did not specify the date or orbital coordinates, but intelligence
sources told Yonhap that the launch would be between April 4-8 and that the
rocket would be directed over the East Sea, citing information they acquired from
the international agencies.
"We have received communication from North Korea concerning an intended satellite
launch," Lee Adamson, spokesman for the London-based IMO, told Yonhap over the
telephone.
"The letter was from the North Korean maritime administration in Pyongyang," he
said, adding that the letter was received on Wednesday London time.
Seoul officials said the North will direct its rocket over the East Sea and the
Pacific, citing information they have received from international agencies.
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.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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