Why North Korea missile launch angers US, Japan (+video)
North Korea announced plans to launch a satellite atop a ballistic missile. The US says North Korea would be violating a UN resolution.
In this April 5, 2009 image a rocket lifts off from its launch pad in Musudan-ri, North Korea. North Korea announced Friday, March 16, 2012, it plans to launch a similar long-range rocket mounted with a satellite next month.
(AP Photo/KRT TV, File)
Seoul
North Korea said on Friday it will launch a long-range rocket carrying a "working" satellite to mark the centenary of founder Kim Il-sung's birth next month, sparking condemnation from the United States and others that it was in breach of a U.N. resolution.
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the announcement was highly provocative and called upon Pyongyang to honor its obligations including U.N. Security Council resolutions banning ballistic missile launches.
"Such a missile launch would pose a threat to regional security and would also be inconsistent with North Korea's recent undertaking to refrain from long-range missile launches," she said in a statement.
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The North, which said recently it would suspend long-range missile testing as part of talks with the United States, pledged that next month's launch would not impact neighboring countries.
Experts said the launch was clearly another long-range missile test, and could be seen as an act of brinkmanship to pressure Washington into more talks in return for aid.
South Korea, which is still technically at war with the North after signing only an armistice to end the 1950-53 Korean War, and Japan said the ballistic launch threatened regional security.
Any launch by North Korea, whether for a satellite or not, that uses ballistic missile technology violates Security Council resolutions, the Japanese government said.
"We urge North Korea to exercise restraint and refrain from the launch," said the top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura.
China, the reclusive state's only main ally, was more restrained in its response, but stressed on maintaining peace on the divided peninsula.
"Protecting the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and North East Asia suits the joint interests of all parties and is the consistent expectation of the international community. This requires that all relevant parties take a constructive role," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters at a regular news briefing.
MISSILE ADVANCES
In April 2009, the North conducted a similar ballistic rocket launch which resulted in a new round of toughened U.N. sanctions, squeezing the secretive state's already troubled economy and deepening its isolation.
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