N Korea triggers fresh fury with rocket launch

Seoul, February 7 

North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Sunday carrying what it called a satellite, but its neighbours and the United States denounced the launch as a missile test, conducted in defiance of UN sanctions and just weeks after a nuclear bomb test. The US Strategic Command said it had detected a missile entering space, and South Korea’s military said the rocket had put an object into orbit.

North Korea said the launch of the satellite Kwangmyongsong-4, named after late leader Kim Jong Il, was a “complete success” and it was making a polar orbit of Earth every 94 minutes. The launch order was given by his son, leader Kim Jong Un.

The launch prompted South Korea and the United States to announce that they would explore the feasibility of deploying an advanced missile defence system in South Korea, which China and Russia both oppose, “at the earliest possible date.” 

North Korea’s state news agency carried a still picture of a white rocket that closely resembled a previously launched rocket, lifting off. Another showed Kim surrounded by cheering military officials at what appeared to be a command centre.

North Korea’s last long-range rocket launch, in 2012, put what it called a communications satellite into orbit, but no signal has ever been detected from it.

“If it can communicate with the Kwangmyongsong-4, North Korea will learn about operating a satellite in space,” said David Wright, co-director and senior scientist at the Global Security Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Even if not, it gained experience with launching and learned more about the reliability of its rocket systems.” 

North Korea had notified UN agencies that it planned to launch a rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite, triggering opposition from governments that see it as a long-range missile test.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the launch, at the request of the United States, Japan and South Korea, diplomats said.

Isolated North Korea had initially given a February 8-25 time frame for the launch but on Saturday changed that to February 7-14, apparently taking advantage of clear weather on Sunday.

China expressed regret over the launch and called on all sides to act cautiously and refrain from steps that might raise tension. China is North Korea’s main ally, although it disapproves of its nuclear weapons programme.

Russia, which has in recent years forged closer ties with North Korea, said the launch could not but provoke a “decisive protest”, adding Pyongyang had once again demonstrated a disregard for norms of international law. — Reuters

South may get new missile defence

• South Korean and US defence officials said on Sunday they would begin formal talks on the deployment on the Korean peninsula of a US missile defence system to counter the growing threat from North Korea
• The announcement followed a North Korean rocket launch that the US and its allies condemned as a covert ballistic missile test
• There has been speculation for years about the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, one of the most advanced in the world — to the South, one of Washington’s main Asian allies.