(2nd LD) N. Korea fires long-range rocket: S. Korean official

SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired off a multistage rocket from a base
along its east coast on Sunday, a senior South Korean foreign ministry official
confirmed.
The blast-off occurred at around 11:30 a.m. and seems to have flown over Japan,
the official told Yonhap News Agency, asking not to be named.
North Korea said the closely-watched launch was aimed at placing a satellite
into orbit, while South Korea, the U.S, and Japan suspect it was a test of the
reclusive communist nation's most advanced missile.
Intelligence agencies around the region had been monitoring preparations for the
blast-off since Pyongyang announced last month that it would launch the Unha-2
rocket carrying the Kwangmyongsong-2, or Bright Star-2, experimental
communications satellite. Unha means galaxy in Korean.
The 15-member U.N. Security Council is expected to meet soon to discuss the North
Korean action, if confirmed, South Korean officials said.
The North is prohibited from engaging in ballistic missile development under U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1718, adopted after its long-range missile and
nuclear tests in 2006.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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