North Korea informs UN agency of early April rocket launch
Last Updated: Thursday, March 12, 2009 | 11:56 AM ET
CBC News
North Korea has told a United Nations agency it plans to carry out a rocket launch between April 4-8, a move neighbouring countries and the United States suspect may be a long-range missile test.
Lee Adamson, a spokesman for the International Maritime Organization (IMO), said Thursday that Pyongyang had given the body information of the launch on Wednesday.
Adamson said the London-based IMO, which is a specialized UN agency, would be issuing a safety of navigation circular later after confirming the launch co-ordinates and times provided by North Korea.
The proposed launch has drawn fire from the United States, South Korea and other countries in the region, who accuse the North of seeking to test-fire a missile capable of hitting Alaska. The North has maintained that the rocket will only carry an experimental communications satellite.
"We've informed the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Maritime Organization and other international bodies of the necessary information for the safe navigation of planes and ships as part of efforts to prepare for launching the Kwangmyongsong-2, an experimental communications satellite, by carrier rocket Unha-2,'' North Korea's state-run news agency said Thursday.
The North's unprecedented notification appears to be aimed at showing it has fulfilled its obligations regarding the launch, South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said.
Do Myung-hwan, an official with South Korea's Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, said North Korea also notified the IMO that the launch will be made in an easterly direction.
Launch would breach UN resolution, say U.S., South Korea
North Korea is banned from any ballistic missile activity under a UN Security Council resolution adopted after the North's first-ever nuclear test in 2006.
The United States and South Korea see the possible launch as a breach of the resolution, and have pressured the North to abandon its plans. Japan said earlier this month it may send destroyers to intercept the rocket if need be.
U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said Wednesday that China stood united with the United States in opposition to the launch.
She said that "a range of options" are possible if the North goes through with the launch, including action in the UN Security Council.
Clinton maintained that she hoped to convince the North to rejoin six-party talks involving the U.S., Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea aimed at ending the North's nuclear program.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon told reporters Thursday that a launch would "threaten the peace and stability in the region."
North Korea's launch plans have stoked already tense relations with the United States and South Korea. North Korea accuses them of preparing for an invasion, with annual military drills taking place this week, a charge they deny.
South Korea's two main airlines began redirecting flights away from North Korean airspace last week after the North threatened Seoul's passenger planes in protest over the annual exercises.
With files from the Associated Press
