Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




NUKEWARS
North Korea says satellite launch will go ahead
by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP) March 23, 2012


N.Korea's rocket plan 'provocative': UN chief
Seoul (AFP) March 24, 2012 - UN chief Ban Ki-moon and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak vowed Saturday to together tackle any threats arising from North Korea's "gravely provocative" rocket launch planned for next month.

Ban arrived in Seoul earlier in the day for a 53-nation nuclear security summit on Monday and Tuesday, which takes place under the shadow of Pyongyang's plan to launch a rocket to purportedly put a satellite into orbit.

The United States, Australia and other nations see the move as a pretext for a long-range missile test banned by the UN.

"President Lee and Secretary-General Ban shared an understanding that North Korea's announced plan to launch a rocket is in breach of a UN Security Council resolutions," Lee's office said in a press statement.

"They expressed concerns over the launch which they agreed would be a grave provocative act against the international community." the office said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said both sides agreed to work closely together to deal with any threats arising from the proposed rocket launch.

In Kuala Lumpur, Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday that he would raise North Korea's planned rocket launch at the Seoul summit next week, expressing "deep concern" over the issue.

Pyongyang has said any South Korean attempt to address the North's nuclear programme at the March 26-27 summit would be seen as a declaration of war.

But the programme and the rocket launch were expected to be hot topics on the sidelines of the meeting, which will see US President Barack Obama and other world leaders meet to discuss nuclear security issues.

A UN Security Council resolution passed after the North staged missile and nuclear tests in 2009 bans a ballistic missile launch for any purpose.

Ban said in Kuala Lumpur that it could also undermine recent positive signs on long-running diplomatic efforts to end North Korea's nuclear programme.

N. Korea launch to bring strong response: US official
Seoul (AFP) March 23, 2012 - North Korea will face a "strong response" if it launches a long-range rocket next month despite international calls to desist, a special adviser to US President Barack Obama said Friday.

"If they go ahead anyway, we will want to work with our allies and partners for a strong response," Gary Samore, arms control coordinator at the National Security Council, told South Korea's Yonhap news agency in an interview.

The North's planned launch sometime between April 12 and 16 will be a key topic on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Seoul next week.

Obama has scheduled talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and other leaders attending the two-day event starting Monday.

The North says it aims only to put a satellite into orbit for peaceful space research. The United States and its allies see the plan as a pretext for a long-range missile test, banned under UN Security Council resolutions.

"We have urged North Korea not to proceed with the announced satellite launch," Samore said.

"We will be working with other countries, when President Obama is here (in Seoul), to try to discourage North Korea from going ahead with the proposed satellite launch."

Asked about whether Pyongyang could be referred to the Security Council if it goes ahead, Samore told Yonhap: "Then, we will work with our friends to figure out what the most appropriate response will be."

North Korea said Friday it would go ahead with its widely-criticised plan for a satellite launch and promised unspecified "counter-measures" against opponents of the operation.

Any attempt to deprive the North of its "independent and legitimate right" and impose double standards "will inevitably compel the DPRK (North Korea) to take counter-measures", according to a foreign ministry spokesman.

Preparations for the launch "have entered a full-fledged stage of action", the spokesman said in a statement on the official news agency.

The North says it will launch a rocket between April 12-16 to put a peaceful satellite into orbit. The United States and its allies see a disguised missile test in violation of UN resolutions.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon and several countries have criticised the planned launch. Ban says he will take it up at a summit starting Monday in Seoul.

The statement insisted the launch would not breach an agreement announced last month with the United States, under which the North agreed to suspend its uranium enrichment programme and missile tests in return for US food aid.

"The DPRK (North Korea) remains unchanged in its stand to sincerely implement the DPRK-U.S. agreement," the statement said.

Any attempt to deprive the North of its right to launch peaceful satellites would "inevitably compel the DPRK (North Korea) to take counter-measures", the spokesman said without elaborating.

Countries concerned "should not make an excessive reaction to the DPRK's satellite launch for peaceful purposes from their viewpoint of confrontation but fairly and calmly accept it as it is", the statement added.

US warns N.Korea rocket aimed south
Sydney (AFP) March 24, 2012 - A senior US official has warned North Korea's upcoming rocket launch would be aimed south for the first time and impact in an area "roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines".

Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, delivered the message in person to Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Saturday.

"If the missile test proceeds as North Korea has indicated, our judgement is that it will impact in an area roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines," Campbell was quoted as saying.

"We have never seen this trajectory before. We have weighed into each of these countries and asked them to make clear that such a test is provocative and this plan should be discontinued."

The nuclear-armed North has announced it will launch a rocket in mid-April to put a satellite into orbit, a move the United States, Australia and other nations see as a pretext for a long-range missile test banned by the UN.

On Friday, the North said preparations for the launch "have entered a full-fledged stage of action" and promised unspecified "counter-measures" against opponents of the operation.

It insisted the launch would not breach an agreement announced last month with the United States, under which the North agreed to suspend its uranium enrichment programme and missile tests in return for US food aid.

The move by North Korea's new leadership has set off alarm bells across the region with the Philippines already calling for help from the United States to monitor the rocket, part of which is expected to land off the archipelago.

Japan is readying missile defence systems to shoot down any rocket that threatens the country. North Korea's main ally China has urged that "all parties should keep calm and exercise restraint".

Carr said after meeting Campbell that the launch would be "in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions."

A UN Security Council resolution passed after the North's missile and nuclear tests in 2009 bans a ballistic missile launch for any purpose.

"The North Korean nuclear and long-range missile plans represent a real and credible threat to the security of the region and to Australia," Carr told the Herald.

Carr added that he and Campbell had "shared views on how both the US and Australia could engage our regional partners and allies to encourage North Korea to abandon its plans".

World leaders including US President Barack Obama are meeting in Seoul next week for a summit officially focused on nuclear terrorism.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon plans to raise the rocket launch at the meeting on Monday and Tuesday.

.


Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








NUKEWARS
S. Korea set to expand ballistic missile range: president
Seoul (AFP) March 22, 2012
South Korea is set to reach agreement with the US on expanding its ballistic missile range to better guard against attacks by North Korea, the South's leader was quoted Thursday as saying. The two allies are close to agreement on revising a 2001 deal that restricts Seoul's missile range to 300 kilometres (186 miles), President Lee Myung-Bak said in an interview with Dong-A Ilbo newspaper and ... read more


NUKEWARS
Ecliptic "MoonKAM" Systems Begin Operations in Lunar Orbit

Two New NASA LRO Videos: See Moon's Evolution, Take a Tour

China to get lunar soil

China's second moon orbiter outperforms design

NUKEWARS
Geologists discover new class of landform - on Mars

Red Food For the Red Planet

Mars on a Shoestring

India's Mars mission gets Rs.125 crore

NUKEWARS
Exercise has benefits, even when it's done in space

Students' experiments to play out in space

MT Aerospace to manufacture flight hardware for IXV reentry vehicle

Experients may force revision of astrophysical models of the universe

NUKEWARS
China's Lunar Docking

Shenzhou-9 may take female astronaut to space

China to launch 100 satellites during 2011-15

Three for Tiangong

NUKEWARS
ATV Edoardo Amaldi set for liftoff

Astrium: double delivery for ATV-3 Edoardo Amaldi launch

Russia to launch new ISS module in 2013 as scheduled

DARPA Makes Room On ISS For Programmers

NUKEWARS
Third Ariane 5 ready for launch in 2012

Europe's next weather satellite gears up for launch

Europe launches third robot freighter to space station

Arianespace's third ATV launch for ISS servicing is given a "go" for liftoff

NUKEWARS
Some orbits more popular than others in solar systems

Herschel's new view on giant planet formation

Kepler Statistical Analysis Suggests Earthlike Planets Extremely Rare

Stars with Dusty Disks Should Harbor Earth-like Worlds

NUKEWARS
ISS crew takes shelter to avoid passing space junk

How the alphabet of data processing is growing

Huffington Post to release weekly iPad magazine

Angry Birds catapult into space, with Nasa's help




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement