Pyongyang places missiles on launch pads
South Korean press on March 26 quoted a source from the country's Ministry of National Defense as saying that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has set up a rocket launch complex to put satellites into orbit at the Tongchang-ri launch site in the North.
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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed with his US counterpart that Pyongyang's missile launch violated UN resolutions - Photo: Yonhap |
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said both Seoul and Washington had been informed of Pyongyang's shipment and that plans for a satellite launch were in place.
“There is no way North Korea would not have known that its missile carrier was being tracked by US satellites. This can be seen as pressure on the international community,” a South Korean government source said.
The news came as leaders of 58 countries gathered in Seoul for a two-day nuclear security summit. US President Barack Obama warned: “From South Korea, I want to say directly to the leaders in Pyongyang that the United States has no hostility toward your country. But provocations and the pursuit of nuclear weapons will not achieve the security you seek.”
Yonhap said President Obama and his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev agreed that Pyongyang's long-range missile launch violated UN Security Council resolution 1874.
Resolution 1874, which prohibits North Korea from engaging in any launch activities using ballistic missile technology, was issued in 2009 after the Pyongyang regime tested nuclear weapons and long-range missiles that year.
US Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said Mr. Obama and Mr. Medvedev agreed that any provocative actions by the DPRK would only further isolate the country.
In addition, the US believes that the DPRK's satellite launch plan goes against the agreement the two countries signed last month, which stipulates that the Pyongyang government will not conduct any missile or nuclear tests in exchange for food aid.
Meanwhile, North Korea has for the first time given details of a weather satellite it will launch next month, which KCNA said was “an advanced geostationary meteorological data-receiving satellite.”
According to KCNA, “the Kwangmyongsong-3 (Shining Star) satellite will make great contributions to weather forecast research essential for agriculture and other economic fields. Scientific research for accurate weather forecasting is being vigorously promoted by the DPRK.”
According to Tuoitre
