The US has warned North Korea that its planned long-range missile launch would breach the impoverished country’s international obligations and jeopardise food aid from Washington.
The launch of the Unha-3 rocket, which North Korea says will merely put a weather satellite into space, breaches UN sanctions imposed to stop Pyongyang developing a missile that could carry a nuclear warhead.
“The proposed missile launch ... would represent a clear and serious violation of North Korea’s obligations under two United Nations Security Council resolutions,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney.
North Korea defended the launch as a sovereign right. “The weight of our satellite is 100 kg. If it was a weapon, a 100 kg payload wouldn’t have much of an effect ... said Ryu Kum-chol, vice director of the space development department of the Korean Central Space Committee. – (Reuters)