UNSC may issue response to N. Korean rocket over weekend

SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is expected to adopt a response to North Korea's recent rocket launch as early as Sunday, diplomatic sources here said Saturday.

North Korea claimed it successfully sent a communications satellite into orbit
after firing a three-stage rocket last Sunday, while South Korea and the U.S.
believe the rocket launch was a failure.
The launch was denounced by South Korea and its allies as a violation of a U.N.
Security Council resolution 1718, adopted after the North's nuclear and ballistic
missile tests in 2006.
According to officials, five veto-wielding permanent members of the UNSC and a
representative from Japan were scheduled to convene Sunday (Saturday in New York)
to draft a chairman's statement on Pyongyang's missile launch. The council is
likely to hold a general meeting later that day to vote on the statement.
The chairman's statement is expected to condemn North Korea's rocket launch and
urge Pyongyang to fulfill its duties regarding the resolution. Japan, which has
pressed for the statement to include stiffened sanctions on the isolated country,
was reportedly planning to withdraw its demand.
The U.S. has reportedly circulated a draft resolution to be discussed at the
security council meeting on punitive action.
Chinese and Russian ambassadors have been sympathetic to North Korea's claim to
the right to space development, urging those involved to show restraint and focus
on reviving the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament.
North Korea has warned that any U.N. action against its satellite launch will be
considered a "hostile act" that will rupture the six-party denuclearization talks
and prompt Pyongyang to reverse the disabling process of its key nuclear reactor.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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