EU says N. Korean rocket launch violates U.N. resolution

BRUSSELS, March 24 (Yonhap) -- The European Union has given a cautious warning to North Korea that its planned rocket launch in early April "would be seen" as a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution, the Czech Republic said Tuesday.

The message was delivered during a trip to Pyongyang by an EU Troika delegation
earlier this week that met with the North's Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun,
according to the country that holds the rotating EU presidency.
"The EU delegation emphasized to the DPRK (North Korea) authorities that their
announced 'experimental satellite launch' would be seen as a breach of the U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1718, and it will send a wrong signal to the
international community," the Czech government said in a press release.
The EU Troika is composed of representatives from the Czech Republic, as well as
representatives from the European Commission and the EU Council.
The delegation, led by a director-level Czech foreign ministry official, traveled
to the North between March 21-23 as a "continuation of the regular political
dialogue" between the two sides.
The Czech government's press release did not provide further details, including
the North's response to the EU warning, which also reflects the position of South
Korea and its allies.
South Korea, the U.S., and Japan have stressed that any launch of a rocket or a
missile by North Korea would constitute a breach of the U.N. resolution, adopted
after the North conducted a missile and nuclear test in 2006 and banning it from
being involved in all activity related to a ballistic missile program.
North Korea announced that it will launch a rocket carrying a satellite between
April 4-8, a claim South Korea regards as a guise for a long-range missile test
subject to sanctions under the U.N. resolution.
Pyongyang threatened to exit the multilateral talks on its nuclear program if
sanctions are imposed after its launch, saying every country has the right to
peaceful space exploration.
"If such a hostile activity is carried out under the name of the U.N. Security
Council, that would be a breach by the U.N. Security Council itself of the
September 19 joint statement," the North's foreign ministry spokesman said
Tuesday, referring to a landmark denuclearization deal with its five dialogue
partners -- South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan.
If the agreement is nullified, there will no longer be any grounds for the
six-party talks to exist, the unnamed spokesman said.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department said the North's threat is unhelpful to
regional security.
"This type of rhetoric just doesn't promote the cause of peace on the Korean
Peninsula. It raises tensions. We want to see them come back to the table," State
Department spokesman Robert Wood said.