North Korean rocket puts object into space, angers neighbours, U.S
SEOUL- North Korea launched a long-range rocket
on Sunday carrying what it called a satellite, but its neighbours
and the United States denounced the launch as a missile test,
conducted in defiance of U.N. sanctions and just weeks after
a nuclear bomb test.
The U.S. Strategic Command said it had detected a missile
entering space, and South Korea's military said the rocket had
put an object into orbit.
North Korea said the launch of the satellite
Kwangmyongsong-4, named after late leader Kim Jong Il, was
a "complete success" and it was making a polar orbit of Earth
every 94 minutes. The launch order was given by his son,
leader Kim Jong Un, who is believed to be 33 years old.
The launch prompted South Korea and the United States to
announce that they would explore the feasibility of deploying an
advanced missile defence system in South Korea, which China
and Russia both oppose, "at the earliest possible date."
North Korea's state news agency carried a still picture of a
white rocket that closely resembled a previously launched
rocket, lifting off. Another showed Kim surrounded by cheering
military officials at what appeared to be a command centre.
North Korea's last long-range rocket launch, in 2012, put
what it called a communications satellite into orbit, but no signal
has ever been detected from it.
"If it can communicate with the Kwangmyongsong-4, North
Korea will learn about operating a satellite in space," said
David Wright, co-director and senior scientist at the Global
Security Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"Even if not, it gained experience with launching and learned
more about the reliability of its rocket systems."
The rocket lifted off at around 9:30 a.m. Seoul time (0030
GMT) on a southward trajectory, as planned. Japan's Fuji
Television Network showed a streak of light heading into the
sky, taken from a camera at China's border with North
Korea.
North Korea had notified U.N. agencies that it planned to
launch a rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite,
triggering opposition from governments that see it as a long-
range missile test.
The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on
Sunday to discuss the launch, at the request of the United
States, Japan and South Korea, diplomats said.
Isolated North Korea had initially given a Feb. 8-25 time frame
for the launch but on Saturday changed that to Feb. 7-14,
apparently taking advantage of clear weather on Sunday.
North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration
called the launch "an epochal event in developing the country's
science, technology, economy and defence capability by
legitimately exercising the right to use space for independent
and peaceful purposes".
The launch and the Jan. 6 nuclear test are seen as efforts
by the North's young leader to bolster his domestic legitimacy
ahead of a ruling party congress in May, the first since 1980.
North Korea's embassy in Moscow said in a statement the
country would continue to launch rockets carrying satellites,
according to Russia's Interfax news agency.
NEW MISSILE DEFENCE?
South Korea and the United States said that if the advanced
missile defence system called Terminal High Altitude Area
Defence (THAAD) was deployed to South Korea, it would be
focussed only on North Korea.
South Korea had been reluctant to discuss openly the possibility
of deploying THAAD.
"North Korea continues to develop their nuclear weapons and
ballistic missile programs, and it is the responsibility of our
Alliance to maintain a strong defence against those threats,”
Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, U.S. Forces Korea commander, said
in a statement. "THAAD would add an important capability in a
layered and effective missile defence."
China, South Korea's biggest trading partner, repeated what it
says is "deep concern" about a system whose radar could
penetrate its territory.
South Korea's military said it would make annual military
exercises with U.S. forces "the most cutting-edge and the
biggest" this year. North Korea objects to the drills as a
prelude to war by a United States it says is bent on toppling
the Pyongyang regime.
The United States has about 28,500 troops in South Korea.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States
would work with the U.N. Security Council on "significant
measures" to hold North Korea to account for what he called
a flagrant violation of U.N. resolutions on North Korea's use
of ballistic missile technology.
South Korea's navy retrieved what it believes to be a fairing
used to protect the satellite on its journey into a space, a sign
that it is looking for parts of the discarded rocket for clues
into the isolated North's rocket programme, which it did
following the previous launch.
China expressed regret over the launch and called on all sides
to act cautiously and refrain from steps that might raise
tension. China's Foreign Ministry said late on Sunday that it
had summoned the North Korean ambassador to "make
representations and make clear China's principled position".
China is North Korea's main ally, but it disapproves of its
nuclear weapons programme.
Russia, which has in recent years forged closer ties with North
Korea, said the launch could not but provoke a "decisive
protest", adding Pyongyang had once again demonstrated a
disregard for norms of international law.
"We strongly recommend the leadership of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea think about whether a policy of
opposing the entire international community meets the interests
of the country," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the
launch and urged North Korea to "halt its provocative actions".
South Korean President Park Geun-hye said it was an
unforgivable act of provocation.
Australia condemned what it called North Korea's dangerous
conduct while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the
launch was "absolutely unacceptable", especially after the
North's nuclear test last month.
North Korea has said that its fourth nuclear test was of a
hydrogen bomb. The United States and other governments
have expressed doubt over that claim.
North Korea is believed to be working on miniaturising a nuclear
warhead to put on a missile, but many experts say it is some
way from perfecting such technology.
It has shown off two versions of a ballistic missile resembling a
type that could reach the U.S. West Coast, but there is no
evidence the missiles have been tested.
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