North Korea announced yesterday it will launch a rocket later this month, courting certain US and UN condemnation and racking up tensions with South Korea which is just days from a presidential election.
It will be the North’s second long-range rocket launch this year following a much-hyped but failed attempt in April.
In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the Korean Committee for Space Technology said the new bid would be carried out between December 10 and 22.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry condemned the planned launch as a “deeply provocative act” that defied UN resolutions and would have significant repercussions for the already isolated state.
Japan said it would work closely with the US, South Korea and China to dissuade North Korea from going ahead with the launch, Jiji Press news agency reported, quoting government officials.
As in April, the North said it would be a purely “peaceful, scientific” mission aimed at placing a polar-orbiting earth observation satellite into orbit.
The US and its allies insist the launches are disguised tests for an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
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