North Korea rocket plan under fire
March 24, 2012
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged North Korea on Saturday to reconsider its plan to launch a satellite into space in April, condemning the rocket launch as a "grave provocative act."
The secretary general was in the South Korean capital, Seoul, where he held talks with the country's president, Lee Myung-Bak, ahead of the 53-nation Nuclear Security Summit slated for Monday and Tuesday.
North Korea had announced last week that it would launch an observation satellite, the Kwangmyongsong-3, into orbit on an Unha-3 rocket in April. The launch is scheduled to mark the 100th birthday of the isolated, highly militarized communist state's deceased founder, Kim Il-Sung.
The United States, Australia and other nations are concerned that the satellite launch could be a pretext for a long-range missile test. The UN Security Council passed a resolution banning such tests after North Korea staged missile and nuclear tests in 2009.
"President Lee and Secretary General Ban shared an understanding that North Korea's announced plan to launch a rocket is in breach of UN Security Council resolutions," the South Korean president's office said in a release.
"They expressed concerns over the launch which they agreed would be a grave provocative act against the international community," the office said.
Region on alert
The US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell, said that the rocket would be aimed south for the first time and would impact in an area "roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines."
Campbell delivered the message in person to Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday.
"We have never seen this trajectory before," the assistant secretary of state was quoted as saying.
Japan said on Friday that it was preparing its missile defense system to shoot down the rocket should it enter Japanese airspace. China, North Korea's closest ally, called for all sides to "keep calm and exercise restraint."
UN Secretary General Ban said in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday that the rocket launch could jeopardized recent efforts to end North Korea's nuclear program. Washington and Pyongyang had announced a deal in February that suspended uranium enrichment in North Korea in exchange for food aid.
slk/tm (AP, AFP, dpa)