Dal NYT
SEOUL,
South Korea — Defying warnings of tougher sanctions from Washington,
North Korea on Sunday launched a space rocket in a purported satellite
program widely considered to be a cover for developing intercontinental
ballistic missile technologies.
The
rocket blasted off from Tongchang-ri, the North’s main satellite launch
site near its northwestern border with China, a spokesman for the South
Korean Defense Ministry, said.
The
spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity until his ministry could
make an official announcement, said it was not clear if the rocket
launch was successful.
President
Park Geun-hye of South Korea called an emergency meeting of top
national security advisers on Sunday to address the launch, her office
said. South Korea, the United States and Japan also requested an
emergency meeting of the United Nations’ Security Council.
In
Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry called the launch a “major
provocation, threatening not only the security of the Korean peninsula,
but that of the region and the United States as well.” Susan E. Rice,
the national security adviser, said the launch was “a flagrant violation
of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
North
Korea had earlier notified the International Maritime Organization, the
United Nations agency responsible for navigation safety, that it
planned to launch the rocket between Monday and Feb. 25 to put a
satellite into orbit.
The
United States and allied nations have condemned North Korea’s plan
because they consider its satellite program to be a sort of cover for
developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that is capable of
delivering a nuclear bomb.
Under a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions, North Korea is prohibited from developing nuclear weapons or ballistic-missile technologies.
The
launch comes as the Chinese and South Koreans are celebrating the Lunar
New Year. In South Korea, the holiday begins on Sunday and extends
through Wednesday. The North’s third nuclear test, on Feb. 12, 2013,
also took place near the end of that year’s Lunar New Year’s holiday.
Analysts
in South Korea suggest that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, may
want to show off advances in his missile and nuclear programs ahead of
Feb. 16. The date marks the birthday of his father, Kim Jong-il, who
died in 2011.
The birthday is regarded as a major national holiday in the North.
North
Korea insists that its rocket program is peaceful, aimed at launching
satellites to gather data for weather forecasting and for other
scientific purposes.
