(2nd LD) N. Korea fires long-range rocket, draws international outcry

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with U.N. meeting, Obama's statement, analysts' view,
other details)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea carried out a "provocative" launch of its
long-range rocket Sunday, deepening regional tensions already running high over
the country's nuclear ambitions.
The South Korean government confirmed that the North fired off a multistage
rocket from a launch pad on its east coast 15 seconds past 11:30 a.m., and it
flew over Japan, which made no attempt at interception.
South Korea and other regional powers reacted angrily to the North's action,
calling it a clear breach of a U.N. Security Council resolution that bars all
ballistic missle activities by Pyongyang.
"The launch clearly violates U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718 and it is a
provocative act threatening stability and peace in Northeast Asia, despite any
countervailing claims by North Korea," Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said in a
statement.
The minister said his government and the international community are very
disappointed by the North's costly rocket launch given the chronic food shortage
in the impoverished communist nation.
Yu, who chairs the country's minister-level security policy coordination meeting,
said South Korea will seek punitive measures in consultation with the U.N. and
related nations. Yu met U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Kathleen Stephens later Sunday
to discuss a response to the launch, as the South Korean military has been placed
on high alert.
The 15-member U.N. Security Council decided to hold an emergency session early
Monday morning to discuss countermeasures.
South Korea, the U.S., and Japan are expected to push for sanctions under the
existing resolution, while the positions of the North's traditional allies China
and Russia remain uncertain.
North Korea previously announced it would launch a rocket as part of efforts to
place a communication satellite into orbit but some neighbors suspect it to be
part of its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program.
In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama described the North's rocket as a
"Taepodong-2 missile," and made clear that the launch will be subject to
sanctions under the U.N. resolution adopted after its long-range missile and
nuclear tests in 2006.
"With this provocative act, North Korea has ignored its international
obligations, rejected unequivocal calls for restraint, and further isolated
itself from the community of nations," Obama said in a statement.
The North's launch, in which the first stage of the rocket splashed down in
waters near Japan's northwestern coast and the second stage fell into the Pacific
Ocean, set off the alarm bells ringing again over global concerns about the
communist nation's development of nuclear-tipped missiles.
If confirmed to be successful, Sunday's launch could prove the North has
developed a long-range missile capable of hitting the U.S. North Korea is
believed to possess several nuclear bombs, although its ability to miniaturize
them as warheads remains doubtful.
Based on preliminary intelligence analysis, a senior South Korean foreign
ministry official identified the North's rocket as a "space vehicle" carrying a
satellite, not a missile itself.
"We believe North Korea fired a rocket carrying a satellite," the official told
Yonhap News Agency. "However, it does not necessarily mean that the launch was a
success."
He pointed out that the international community is still worried about the
North's long-range space vehicle as it uses the same technology as an ICBM.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government also denounced the launch and announced that it
will extend existing sanctions on North Korea for a year.
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.
North Korea's state media has not reported on Sunday's launch.
North Korea watchers agreed that the North's provocative action appears to have
multiple purposes, including drawing the attention of the Obama administration
and solidifying internal unity.
"Countries with this sort of political system usually show more hard-line
external behavior when there are internal leadership problems," said Victor Cha,
professor at Georgetown University who served as a senior National Security
Council official under the Bush administration. "That is at least what the
history of international relations tells us. Thus the deliberate intention of
Pyongyang may not be clear, this could be a manifestation of political fluidity
in the North."
Koh Yu-hwan, professor at Seoul-based Dongkuk University, said the North was
seeking "comprehensive negotiations," including on missile and nuclear programs,
with the U.S.
The U.S. president said in his latest statement that his administration will
continue work to denuclearize North Korea through the six-party talks, now
stalled over ways to inspect the North's nuclear sites.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)