North’s sat launch tests Tokyo, Seoul patience

Prices had been given a boost late Japan put its military on alert on Wednesday to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatens it, while South Korea warned the North it would pay a “severe price” if it goes ahead with a satellite launch that South Korea considers a missile test. The United States, which has been spearheading a diplomatic drive for harsher, more effective sanctions on Pyongyang over its latest nuclear test, condemned the launch plan. It termed it as “another egregious violation” of UN resolutions following Pyongyang’s nuclear test last month. 

The North sent formal notifications to three UN agencies, including the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), of its intention to launch an earth observation satellite between February 8-25. 

“This argues even more strongly for action by the UN Security Council and the international community to impose tough additional sanctions,” said Daniel Russel, the assistant US secretary of state for Asia-Pacific Affairs. 

Last month North Korea conducted a nuclear test. A rocket launch coming so soon after it would raise concern that North Korea plans to fit nuclear warheads on its missiles, giving it the capability to launch a strike against South Korea, Japan and possibly targets as far away as the U.S. West Coast. 

South Korea said the North should immediately call off the launch, which is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the South’s presidential Blue House said in a statement. North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, sending an object it described as a communications satellite into orbit. 

China, North Korea’s sole main ally, also cautioned the country. “We are extremely concerned about this,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a briefing. “In the present situation, we hope North Korea exercises restraint on the issue of launching satellites, acts cautiously and does not take any escalatory steps that may further raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”