Officials: DPRK rocket launch imminent

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-04 08:31

STRASBOURG/LONDON -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is readying a rocket for launch as early as Saturday, officials said.

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers stand guard at the gate of the Araya base where Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles are set, in Akita, northern Japan on Friday. Reuters [China Daily]

Pyongyang has said it will send a satellite into space between Saturday and Wednesday, and insists it has the right to do so as part of a peaceful space program.

The United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan said they believe the DPRK is really testing long-range missile technology. They are pushing for UN punishment for a launch they say violates UN resolutions that ban further ballistic missile tests since the previous Taepodong-2 test and the DPRK's only nuclear test in October 2006. But they said they have no plans to shoot down the rocket unless it threatens their territory.

ROK President Lee Myung-bak said in London it was now almost certain the DPRK would fire the missile, and if the weather permits the launch could take place as early as Saturday.

President Hu Jintao and Lee exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula on Friday after they attended the G20 summit on Thursday, Xinhua News Agency reported, without elaborating.

Fueling at the launch pad in Musudan-ri appears nearly complete, the ROK's Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified government official as saying. Experts say the launch would likely follow quickly because rocket fuels are generally highly corrosive.

Cloudy conditions were forecast for the launch area on Saturday but no strong winds that could force a delay were expected.

US President Barack Obama, appearing with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Strasbourg, France, said the launch is provocative and should be stopped, adding that the US would "take appropriate steps to let North Korea (DPRK) know that it can't threaten the safety and security of other countries with impunity".

Japan has deployed warships with anti-missile systems off the coast, set up Patriot missile interceptors and established a system to warn residents when the rocket is approaching. Japan says the rocket is expected to reach its territory 10 minutes after liftoff.

"Now, Pyongyang is fully prepared," said Zhang Liangui, a senior researcher on East Asia Studies at the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

He added that sanctions based on UN Security Council Resolution 1718 would not have any significant impact on Pyongyang.

The resolution, adopted after the DPRK nuclear test in 2006, asks governments to prevent the sale of arms and equipment for nuclear work, as well as luxury goods, to the DPRK. It also asks UN member countries to freeze bank accounts of people related to Pyongyang's nuclear program and their families and ban them from entering the nations.

And there is still the possibility for Pyongyang to escape punishment, as a 1967 UN treaty says outer space "shall be free for exploration and use by all states without discrimination of any kind".

"If the rocket reaches 40 km high (the global standard of the height of outer space) and doesn't attack other countries, the 1967 treaty will apply to it," Zhang said.

Zhu Feng, a scholar of East Asian studies at Peking University, said no matter what Pyongyang is launching, "under the current situation, it would disrupt the multilateral diplomatic process seeking to settle Pyongyang's nuclear issue".

China Daily, AP and Reuters