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omonatheydidBy Kim Young-jin
North Korea has begun preparations for a controversial rocket launch next month, satellite images showed Friday, as regional players ratcheted up pressure in a bid to prevent the move. The images taken March 29 showed preparations being made on a mobile launch pad in Dongchang-ri in the country’s northwest, including a crane apparently loading equipment onto the gantry and trucks delivering fuel.
Pyongyang insists the launch intends to put a satellite into orbit for science. But Seoul, Washington and others believe it is cover for a ballistic missile test that could advance the country toward developing a missile to carry a nuclear warhead. The launch is slated to take place between April 12 and 16, timed for the 100th birth anniversary of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung on April 15.
Tension mounted Friday as the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda gave authorization for the rocket to be shot down if it crosses the country’s territory. In preparation Tokyo’s Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said Aegis destroyers with missile defense systems would be deployed to the southern island chain of Okinawa, which is below the rocket’s forecasted flight path, reports said. Japan’s remarks came after a U.S. official said the Barack Obama administration indicated it would completely reconsider its North Korea policy if the launch is carried out.
The announcement of the launch caught the region off guard as it came just weeks after the regime had agreed, under a deal with Washington, to place a moratorium on long-range missile launches in exchange for nutritional aid.
"My view is that if North Korea goes forward with this test, we will stop this aid and stop the other steps that we had intended to take and have to have a complete reconsideration of where we go in the future," James Miller, the principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, said.
A Seoul official said the Lee Myung-bak administration was focusing all its efforts on preventing the launch and that it was “not appropriate” to comment yet on what measures would be taken if it happens. Further analysis of the images showed work crews clearing out brush apparently to prevent fires from being ignited by the launch.
The Stalinist state says it will allow foreign experts and reporters to visit the launch site before observing the lift-off from the General Satellite Control and Command Center in Pyongyang.
Analysts suspect the launch is tied to the regime’s efforts to bolster the reputation of inexperienced leader Kim Jong-un, who is taking power after the December death of his father, Kim Jong-il. The North claimed in 2009 it fired a rocket that put a satellite into orbit. But Seoul and Washington said it failed to do so and that it was meant to further Pyongyang’s weapons program. The plan has thrown a wrench into momentum to restart negotiations over the North’s nuclear weapons program.
In addition to Seoul and Washington, Tokyo and Moscow have reaffirmed that the launch would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, while China said it was working to persuade its ally to refrain from the act. Those countries, along with Pyongyang, comprise the six-party talks on denuclearizing the North.
Source: Koreatimes
North Korea has begun preparations for a controversial rocket launch next month, satellite images showed Friday, as regional players ratcheted up pressure in a bid to prevent the move. The images taken March 29 showed preparations being made on a mobile launch pad in Dongchang-ri in the country’s northwest, including a crane apparently loading equipment onto the gantry and trucks delivering fuel.
Pyongyang insists the launch intends to put a satellite into orbit for science. But Seoul, Washington and others believe it is cover for a ballistic missile test that could advance the country toward developing a missile to carry a nuclear warhead. The launch is slated to take place between April 12 and 16, timed for the 100th birth anniversary of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung on April 15.
Tension mounted Friday as the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda gave authorization for the rocket to be shot down if it crosses the country’s territory. In preparation Tokyo’s Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said Aegis destroyers with missile defense systems would be deployed to the southern island chain of Okinawa, which is below the rocket’s forecasted flight path, reports said. Japan’s remarks came after a U.S. official said the Barack Obama administration indicated it would completely reconsider its North Korea policy if the launch is carried out.
The announcement of the launch caught the region off guard as it came just weeks after the regime had agreed, under a deal with Washington, to place a moratorium on long-range missile launches in exchange for nutritional aid.
"My view is that if North Korea goes forward with this test, we will stop this aid and stop the other steps that we had intended to take and have to have a complete reconsideration of where we go in the future," James Miller, the principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, said.
A Seoul official said the Lee Myung-bak administration was focusing all its efforts on preventing the launch and that it was “not appropriate” to comment yet on what measures would be taken if it happens. Further analysis of the images showed work crews clearing out brush apparently to prevent fires from being ignited by the launch.
The Stalinist state says it will allow foreign experts and reporters to visit the launch site before observing the lift-off from the General Satellite Control and Command Center in Pyongyang.
Analysts suspect the launch is tied to the regime’s efforts to bolster the reputation of inexperienced leader Kim Jong-un, who is taking power after the December death of his father, Kim Jong-il. The North claimed in 2009 it fired a rocket that put a satellite into orbit. But Seoul and Washington said it failed to do so and that it was meant to further Pyongyang’s weapons program. The plan has thrown a wrench into momentum to restart negotiations over the North’s nuclear weapons program.
In addition to Seoul and Washington, Tokyo and Moscow have reaffirmed that the launch would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, while China said it was working to persuade its ally to refrain from the act. Those countries, along with Pyongyang, comprise the six-party talks on denuclearizing the North.
Source: Koreatimes
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Date: 2012-03-31 05:45 pm (UTC)