N. Korea fires long-range rocket, draws international outcry

By Lee Chi-dong and Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea went ahead with a controversial long-range
rocket launch on Sunday, prompting strong condemnations from South Korea and
other regional powers.
South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae confirmed that North Korea fired
off a rocket from a launch pad on its east coast 15 seconds past 11:30 a.m., and
immediately expressed strong regret over the North's "reckless action."
"We cannot withhold our regret and disappointment that North Korea has caused
such a serious threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the world by
firing a long-range rocket when the entire world is joining efforts to overcome
the global economic crisis," Lee Dong-kwan, spokesman for the presidential
office, said.
The spokesman added that President Lee Myung-bak instructed his government to
keep a close watch on the situation and the entire military to bolster its
vigilance against emergency situations.
A senior South Korean foreign ministry official identified the North's rocket as
a "space vehicle" carrying a satellite.
"We believe North Korea fired a rocket carrying a satellite," the official said.
However, it does not necessarily mean that the launch was a success."
He said the U.N. Security Council will meet soon to discuss countermeasures.
The U.S. government also confirmed the launch.
"We have had a launch. I don't know the type of missile," U.S. State Department
spokesman Fred Lash said in Washington, adding it is a "provocative act."
Japanese media said, meanwhile, the first stage of the rocket splashed down in
waters near Japan's northwestern coast and the second stage fell into the Pacific
Ocean, as the North had previously notified international bodies.
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 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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