N. Korea urged to stop planned rocket launch: State Dept.

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Yonhap) -- The United States Thursday demanded that North Korea scrap its plans to launch a rocket and return to the six-party talks on ending its nuclear weapons programs amid reports that the rocket will be launched as early as Saturday.

"We call on the North to desist from launching any type of missile," State
Department spokesman Robert Wood said. "It would be counterproductive. It's
provocative. It further inflames tensions in the region. We want to see the North
get back to the six-party framework and focus on denuclearization."
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. counterpart Barack Obama pledged in
London earlier in the day to bring any North Korean rocket launch to the U.N.
Security Council for possible sanctions. North Korea has said will orbit a
satellite between Saturday and Wednesday.
The U.S. and its allies consider the rocket launch as a cover for a ballistic
missile test, although China and Russia appear not to be sympathetic to any move
to sanction North Korea for the rocket launch, which Pyongyang says is part of a
peaceful space program.
Wood would not comment on the reports that the rocket will be fired Saturday.
"I'm not going to comment on, you know, intelligence matters," he said. "If that
test does go forward, we will be having discussions with our allies, we'll be
having discussions with -- in New York."
The spokesman said that U.S. officials "have had discussions, in New York, about
North Korea and this possible launch." New York is the headquarters of the United
Nations.
He would not elaborate on what kind of sanctions the U.S. will seek at the
security council.
"This is an issue of great concern to us, the Japanese, the Russians, the Chinese
and others," he said. "And so we need to coordinate best on what type of action
we would take should the launch go forward. It's a very difficult issue."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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