North Korea has skipped the first day of its five-day window to launch its new Unha-3 rocket, which is carrying what the country says is an Earth-observing satellite. Poor weather may have been a reason, according to press reports. The launch window extends through April 16.
North Korean space officials, who had taken foreign journalists to the launch control center Wednesday and said fueling was under way, did not comment on the timing of the launch beyond saying it would occur in the five-day window.
Poor weather made a Thursday launch unlikely, Philippine disaster management agency chief Benito Ramos said, citing an assessment passed on to him by the Philippine military, which is being briefed by U.S. and Japan counterparts. Wind in particular can scuttle rocket launches.
The United States, Japan, Britain and others say the launch would constitute a provocation and would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions banning North Korea from developing its nuclear and missile programs. Experts say the Unha-3 carrier is similar to the type of rocket that could be used to fire a missile mounted with a nuclear warhead to strike the U.S. or other targets.
North Korea denies that the launch is anything but a peaceful civilian bid to send a satellite into space. The Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite is designed to send back images and data that will be used for weather forecasts and agricultural surveys.
Pyongyang made two previous attempts to launch a satellite, in 1998 and 2009, but the U.S. and other outside observers say there is no evidence that either reached orbit. This week's planned launch came with more fanfare, with Pyongyang inviting a possibly unprecedented crowd of foreign journalists and other guests.
Meanwhile, the year 2012 will see a number of significant events in spaceflight, including the first Commercial Orbital Transportation Services resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the maiden flights of the Vega and Antares rockets, and the manned Shenzhou 9 orbital mission.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a habitable artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. It follows the Salyut, Almaz, Skylab and Mir stations as the ninth space station to be inhabited. The ISS is a modular structure whose first component was launched in 1998. Like many artificial satellites, the station can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. The ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays and other components. ISS components have been launched by American Space Shuttles as well as Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets which would take so many years of research and experienced and right place to launch. The following icon shows complicated parts explanation of ISS which is from International Space Station configuration as of May 2011: Source: wikipedia
The following icon shows the North Korea Solar system putting together for Kwangmyongsong-3:which Unha-3 is a North Korean expendable carrier rocket. On April 2012 North Korea intends to launch a satellite called Kwangmyongsong-3 upon Unha-3 missile.
North Korea Kwangmyongsong-3:which Unha-3 is planning to launch between 12 to 16 and launch location is Sohae Satellite Launching Station Sohae Satellite Launching Station also known as Tongch'ang-dong Space Launch Center and Pongdong-ri which is a rocket launching site in Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The base is located among hills close to the northern border with China. The spaceport was built on the site of the village Pongdong-ri which was displaced during construction. It is the site for the April 2012 launch of North Korean satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 which is being launched to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-Sung. The rocket launch is expected between 12 April and 16 April 2012.
You can see the North Korea's Unha-3 Rocket Launch Plan explanation which is Explained by virtual via space.com (Infographic):
Sources: Yahoo, AP, CNN, CCTV.Wikipedia, Youtube, and spapce.com catch4all.com,
Sandra Englund, April 12, 2012
North Korea Rocket: could blast off as early as Thursday, April 12, 2012
PYONGYANG (Reuters) - Impoverished North Korea rejected international protests over its planned long-range rocket launch and said on Wednesday that it was injecting fuel "as we speak", meaning it could blast off as early as Thursday.
If all goes to plan, the launch, which North Korea's neighbors and the West say is a disguised ballistic missile test, will take a three-stage rocket over a sea separating the Korean peninsula from China before releasing a satellite into orbit when the third stage fires over waters near the Philippines.
Regional powers also worry it could be the prelude to another nuclear test, a pattern the hermit state set in 2009.
"We don't really care about the opinions from the outside. This is critical in order to develop our national economy," said Paek Chang-ho, head of the satellite control centre at the Korean Committee of Space Technology.
Once the refueling has been completed, the North Koreans will have to inject chemicals into the rocket which cause corrosion, which means the firing could come on Thursday, at the start of a five-day window announced already by Pyongyang.
Weather conditions on the peninsula also appear to favor a launch on Thursday or Saturday, according to meteorological reports from Japanese television.
"The likelihood of a launch (on Thursday) is the greatest," said Francis Yoon, a professor of engineering at South Korea's Yonsei University and an expert on rocket technology.
The launch of the Unha-3 rocket, which North Korea says will merely put a weather satellite into space, breaches U.N. sanctions imposed to prevent Pyongyang from developing a missile that could carry a nuclear warhead.
James Oberg, a former rocket scientist with the U.S. space shuttle mission control who is in North Korea, said the rocket was not a weapon, but "98 percent of a weapon", requiring more technology, although not much.
This is the third long-range rocket test by North Korea. It says its second succeeded in putting a satellite into orbit in 2009, although independent experts say it failed.
The firing coincides with the 100th birthday celebrations of the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung, whose young, untested grandson, Kim Jong-un, now rules. Kim Il-sung died in 1994.
At a national conference of the ruling Workers' Party, Kim Jong-un was named first secretary, a new post created to give him the official stature to head the state where his grandfather remains "eternal president."
His father was also named party general secretary for eternity at the conference, the North's KCNA news agency said.
Paek, briefing foreign journalists in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, declined to comment on the launch date.
"As for the exact timing of the launch, it will be decided by my superiors", Paek said.
South Korea, which remains technically at war with the North after their 1950-53 conflict ended with a truce rather than a peace treaty, warned Pyongyang it would deepen its isolation if it went ahead with the launch.
Security sources in Seoul, citing satellite images, have said that North Korea, which walked out of "six-party" disarmament talks three years ago, is also preparing a third nuclear test following the launch, something it did in 2009 and a move bound to trigger further condemnation and isolation.
South Korea holds parliamentary elections on Wednesday, although the rocket does not appear to have been a major issue with voters more concerned about job security.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that history pointed to "additional provocations" from North Korea after the launch, an apparent reference to a nuclear test.
"This launch will give credence to the view that North Korean leaders see improved relations with the outside world as a threat to their system," she told cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
"And recent history strongly suggests that additional provocations may follow."
She also called on China to do more to ensure regional stability.
China, impoverished North Korea's only major ally, on Wednesday reiterated its pleas for calm and said all sides should make efforts to establish peace in the region.
(Additional reporting by Ju-min Park and Jack Kim in SEOUL and Sui-Lee Wee and Sabrina Mao in Beijing, Writing by Nick Macfie and David Chance)
North Korea, Scares and Threats South Korea Aired on March 3, 2012: (Detail Showing via Youtube)
North Korea, Pyong Yang says ready to launch rocket, prompts warnings: (defying international warnings against violating a ban on missile activity)
PYONGYANG (Reuters) - Isolated and impoverished North Korea said on Tuesday it was ready to go ahead with its proposed long-range rocket launch, an announcement that sparked immediate condemnation from South Korea and Russia and a plea from China, its main ally, for calm.
The launch of the Unha-3 rocket, which North Korea says will merely put a weather satellite into space, breaches U.N. sanctions imposed to prevent Pyongyang from developing a missile that could carry a nuclear warhead.
Russia, a former backer of North Korea which has boosted economic ties with Pyongyang, denounced the program.
"We consider Pyongyang's decision to conduct a launch of a satellite an example of disregard for U.N. Security Council decisions," state-run news agency RIA quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich as saying.
North Korea defended the launch as a sovereign right.
"The weight of our satellite is 100 kg. If it was a weapon, a 100 kg payload wouldn't have much of an effect... Our launching tower is built on an open site," said Ryu Kum-chol, vice director of the space development department of the Korean Central Space Committee.
Ryu said that the rocket assembly would be complete on Tuesday.
The launch is set to take place between Thursday and next Monday around the 100th birthday celebrations of the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung, whose grandson, Kim Jong-un, now rules. Kim Il-sung died in 1994.
"The launch of the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite is the gift from our people to our great leader, comrade Kim Il-sung, on the occasion of his 100th birthday, so this cannot be a missile test," Ryu added.
The West says the launch is a disguised ballistic missile test by a country which walked out of so-called six-party disarmament talks three years ago.
NUCLEAR TEST ALSO PLANNED, SAYS SOUTH
South Korea, which remains technically at war with the North after their 1950-53 conflict ended with a truce rather than a treaty, warned Pyongyang it would deepen its isolation if it went ahead with the launch.
Security sources in Seoul, citing satellite images, have said that North Korea is also preparing a third nuclear test following the rocket launch, something it did in 2009, a move bound to trigger further condemnation from the West.
"It is disappointing that the North is forcing its people to endure sacrifices with this provocative action and is bringing isolation and sanctions to itself from the international community," the South's Unification Ministry said in a statement.
The rocket will bisect a sea that separates South Korea and China and its flight path will take it towards the Philippines where a second stage of the rocket is due to come down in waters close to the archipelago.
China, which backs North Korea economically and diplomatically, reiterated its pleas for calm and said it had "repeatedly expressed its concern and anxiety about the developments," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a press briefing in Beijing.
The prospect of a North Korean rocket launch has alarmed Japan, which was overflown by an earlier rocket and said it would shoot it down if it crossed its airspace.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said in Tokyo he would discuss North Korea with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
"I think a message needs to go to the North Koreans," he told reporters. "You have a new leader, there's an opportunity to take a new path. This is a country incapable even of feeding its own people, that needs to change its approach."
Airlines, including South Korea's Korean Air Lines, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Air Inc, have re-routed flights to avoid the rocket's path.
News that the launch would proceed on time hit South Korea's currency, the won, which eased a little, but the stock market had already closed.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Sabrina Mao in BEIJING, Kaori Kaneko and Mohammed Abbas in TOKYO and Manny Mogato in MANILA; Writing by David Chance; Editing by Nick Macfie.)
North Korean Earth observation satellite: the North Korea calls that Kwangmyongsong-3 which meaning Bright Star-3 or Lode Star-3 supposedly for weather forecast purposes, scheduled for launch between April 12–16, 2012 aboard the Unha carrier rocket. The launch is planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the country's founder.
On March 16, 2012, the Korean Central News Agency reported that the Korean Committee for Space Technology has announced that Kwangmyongsong-3 is to be launched to mark the centenary of Kim Il Sung's birth and the launch details was also announced. In the same announcement it was said that the launch will be made southwards and debris generated from the flight will not impact neighboring countries. On March 17 the North Korean authorities announced it invites foreign experts and journalists to observe a satellite launch. The main newspaper Rodong Sinmun said the rocket will take a "safer" flight path compared to previous launches that strayed into Japanese airspace. The North's official news agency said it had told the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the International Maritime Organisation, the International Telecommunication Union and other bodies about the upcoming launch. The satellite will broadcast remote data in the UHF band and video in the X-band.
In the same announcement it was said that the launch will be made southwards and debris generated from the flight will not impact neighboring countries. On March 17 the North Korean authorities announced it invites foreign experts and journalists to observe a satellite launch. The main newspaper Rodong Sinmun said the rocket will take a "safer" flight path compared to previous launches that strayed into Japanese airspace. The North's official news agency said it had told the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the International Maritime Organisation, the International Telecommunication Union and other bodies about the upcoming launch. The satellite will broadcast remote data in the UHF band and video in the X-band.
A few days later an article released by the Korean Central News Agency stressed that "the peaceful development and use of space is a universally recognized legitimate right of a sovereign state. The satellite launch for scientific researches into the peaceful development and use of space and economic development can by no means be a monopoly of specified countries".
However on a contrary to looking back the Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. The Rockets was one of the tactic plan during the Vietnam war.
Between March 1965 and November 1968, "Rolling Thunder" deluged the north with a million tons of missiles, rockets and bombs which would make cautious to see the following youtube showing the North Korean
commander threatens Seoul. A North Korean military commander threatens
to turn Seoul into "sea of flames". CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.
Is this warning from North Korea? Or is North Korea trying to saying something to South Korea or to ....??? North Korea's first official communication with the outside world following the death of leader Kim Jong-il was a somber warning to South Korea and its allies that it would not change policies see more detail via youtube North Korea report via youtube:
Here is another footage for closer look which is via youtube BBC: North Korea threatens to turn South Korean capital Seoul into 'sea of flames'
North Korean state television has broadcast new footage of military exercises
on the country's west coast as a commander threatens to turn the South
Korean capital into a "sea of flames".
At the end of March North Korea announced it will invite foreign specialists and journalists to watch preparations for the planned launch of its telecommunications satellite and that the guests will be shown both the satellite and the carrier rocket at the launch pad. Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) was officially invited to the launch On March 21 by the North Korean Embassy to Russia but Roscosmos's spokeman said Russia refuses to dispatch its experts to the launch because it violates the UN Security Council resolution. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency had rejected the invitation to send observers to the rocket launch. Government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said "It is inappropriate that any Japanese officials participate in observing the launch".
Last month U.S. President Obama and South
Korea President Lee Myong Bak addressed their concerns and discussed with world leaders about this critical situation:
Sources: Yahoo, AP, CNN, UN, Al Jazeera,RTWhiteHouse, Wikipedia, and Youtube catch4all.com,
Sandra Englund, April 10, 2012
North Korea plan Another Nuclear Test? The 3rd Times ....
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea, pressing ahead with
a rocket launch in defiance of a U.N. resolution, is also preparing a third
nuclear weapons test, South Korean news reports said on Sunday, a move bound to
scare neighbors and infuriate the West. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified intelligence source as
saying North Korea was "clandestinely preparing a nuclear test" at
the same location as the first two.
The source added that workers in the destitute North had been seen in
commercial satellite images digging a tunnel in the northeastern town of
Punggye-ri, Kilju County, in addition to existing mines believed to have been
used for tests in 2006 and 2009. "We have confirmed the (mining) work is coming to its final stage,"
the source was quoted as saying.
The satellite imagery showed piles of earth and sand at the entrance of the
tunnel, Yonhap said.
North Korea, which three years ago pulled out of six-party disarmament talks on
its nuclear program, agreed in February to stop nuclear tests, uranium
enrichment and long-range missile launches in return for food aid, opening the
way to a possible resumption of the negotiations.
But that has all since unraveled with the North's rocket launch planned for
this month, probably between Thursday and the following Monday. The North says
it is merely sending a weather satellite into space, but South Korea and the
United States say it is a ballistic missile test.
Two previous launches of the long-range missile have failed, but Washington
says the North's missile program is progressing quickly and that the American
mainland could come under threat within five years.
U.S. President Barack Obama last month called on North Korea to curb its
nuclear ambitions or face further international isolation.
He said North Korea could be hit with tighter sanctions if it goes ahead with
the launch, but experts doubt China will back another U.N. Security Council
resolution against it. China, Japan and South Korea, three of the "six parties" along with
the United States and the two Koreas, on Sunday expressed concern over the
planned launch.
The foreign ministers of the three countries, ending their annual meeting with
a joint news conference in the coastal Chinese city of Ningbo, largely stuck to
established positions. "China expresses our concern for the development of the situation and
urges all relevant parties to take into consideration the bigger picture and
think long-term," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said.
Obama has urged China to use its influence to rein in North Korea instead of
"turning a blind eye" to its "deliberate provocations".
Japan and South Korea reiterated warnings that Pyongyang would face
international consequences if it went ahead with the launch.
"I made it clear that the international community needs to make rigorous
responses against North Korea's violation of its obligation as a member country
in the world community," South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said. Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said the launch would roll back
progress Pyongyang has made in talks with various countries, including with the
United States, which has suspended the planned food aid.
Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reported from Seoul in March 30, 2012 that Japan's defense minister has ordered missile units to intercept a rocket expected to be launched by North Korea next month if it flies over Japan.
aid.
Sources: Yahoo, AP, fox, UN, Al Jazeera,RTWhiteHouse, Wikipedia, and Youtube catch4all.com,
Sandra Englund, April 9, 2012
On March 25, 2012 when President Barack Obama visited South Korea, He warned North Korea over rocket launch - U.S World Police. NWO included with his Agenda to review which the North Korean military specialists have delivered parts of a ballistic missile to the country's northwestern launch pad, South Korean military informed. The North Korea's plan launch is at the center of international concern as it is believed to have a military motive.
Washington believes North Korea's rocket launches are a cover to test a nuclear warhead delivery vehicle. If the test is successful, Pyongyang's long-range rocket will be capable of targeting Alaska and beyond.
North Korea's upcoming rocket launch is going to be aimed south into a triangle area "roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines", a senior US official has warned.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday that Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, shared this information with Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on North Korean leaders to abstain from carrying out the launch. He recalled UN Resolution 1874, which prohibits North Korea from developing and testing long-range missiles and having an active nuclear weapons program. This resolution was adopted in 2009 after a North Korean space launch, and the new firing is being considered a violation of the UN-adopted resolution.
The UN secretary-general met South Korean leader Lee Myung-bak in Seoul and they called the missile test a "provocation against the international community."
"North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations," Obama said during a news conference in Seoul. "Bad behavior will not be rewarded," Obama added.
Pyongyang is preparing to mark the centennial of North Korea founder, "farther of nation" Kim Il-sun in April with Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite space launch. The country is firmly intended to conduct a launch around April 15 according to North Korea's Foreign Ministry. North Korea insists that the launch is purely civilian and that it has a sovereign right to pursue space exploration.
Monday, April 9, 2012. Yahoo News AP, and Foxnews, ETAL reported that North Korean space officials moved all three stages of the long-range rocket into position for a controversial launch, vowing Sunday to push ahead with their plan in defiance of international warnings against violating a ban on missile activity. The excavation at North Korea's northeast Punggye-ri site, where nuclear tests were conducted in 2006 and 2009, is in its final stages, according to a report by intelligence officials that was shared Monday, April 9th, 2012.
Sources: Yahoo, AP, Fox, UN, Al Jazeera,WhiteHouse, Wikipedia, and Youtube catch4all.com,
Sandra Englund, April 9, 2012
North Korea Founder’s 100th Birth Celebration with The Blast-off
April 12 and 16, 2012 A Long Range Rocket Test
February 16th, 2012 DOD: North Korea Rocket Launch Would Destabilize Region According to Cheryl Pellerin, American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2012 – The April launch of a long-range rocket
announced by North Korea today would violate U.N. resolutions and represent a
destabilizing influence in the region, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby
said here today.
The rocket would carry a North Korean-made Kwangmyongsong-3 polar-orbiting
earth observation satellite to mark the 100th birthday of late-President Kim Il
Sung, a spokesman for the Korean Committee for Space Technology said in a
statement.
The late president’s birthday is April 15.
“If, in fact, they do what they are claiming they will do, it is a very clear
violation of two United Nations Security Council resolutions and is in violation
of their obligations to the international community,” Kirby said.
“We would consider it destabilizing behavior,” he added, “and we urge the
[North] Korean leadership to reconsider this decision and to conform to their
obligations under those sanctions.”
At the State Department today, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said U.N. Security
Council Resolutions Nos. 1718 and 1874 “clearly and unequivocally prohibit North
Korea from conducting launches that use ballistic-missile technology.”
She added, “Such a missile launch would pose a threat to regional security
and would also be inconsistent with North Korea’s recent undertaking to refrain
from long-range missile launches.”
State Department officials are consulting closely with international partners
on next steps, Nuland said.
The satellite will be launched southward from the Sohae satellite launch
station in Cholsan County, North Phyongan Province, between April 12 and 16 on a
long-range Unha-3 rocket, North Korean officials said in the statement.
“A safe flight orbit has been chosen so that carrier rocket debris to be
generated during the flight would not have any impact on neighboring countries,”
they said.
North Korean officials said they will “strictly abide by relevant
international regulations and usage concerning the launch of scientific and
technological satellites for peaceful purposes.”
At the Pentagon, Kirby said, “We continue to operate every day with our South
Korean counterparts and we hold firmly to our alliance obligations and to
security on the Korean peninsula. That’s not going to change.”
The Defense Department, he added, is “very comfortable with the full range of
military capabilities we have at our disposal in the Asia Pacific region and in
and around the Korean peninsula.
“We’re very comfortable with the alliance and the capabilities of our Korean
counterparts in that alliance,” he added, “as well as our other allies and
partners in the area.”
February 19th, 2012 South Korea says North wants rocket for nuclear weapon
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea on Monday condemned rival North Korea's planned rocket launch as a "grave provocation", saying it was a disguised attempt to develop a long-range ballistic missile capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
Seoul also extended a security alert in the capital, and said it was concerned the North might follow the ballistic missile launch with another nuclear test.
The North announced on Friday it would put a satellite into orbit next month barely two weeks after reaching an agreement with Washington to suspend long-range missile launches as part of a deal to restart food aid.
"Our government defines North Korea's so-called working satellite launch plan as a grave provocation to develop a long-distance delivery means for nuclear weapons by using ballistic missile technology," presidential spokesman Park Jung-ha said in a statement.
Washington says the North's long-range ballistic missile program is progressing quickly, and last year said the American mainland could come under threat within five years.
The secretive North has twice tested a nuclear device, but experts doubt whether it yet has the ability to miniaturize an atomic bomb to place atop a warhead.
Pyongyang is believed to have enough fissile material to make up to a dozen nuclear bombs, and in 2010 unveiled a uranium enrichment facility to go with its plutonium program which opened a second route to making an atomic weapon.
On Monday, President Lee Myung-bak met the foreign and security-related ministers to discuss the North's surprise announcement, which also flies in the face of a U.N. Security Council resolution banning long-range missile launches.
Park said in a statement that Seoul would work closely with the United States, Japan, China and Russia - all members of the six-party forum which deals with the North's nuclear program - during next week's Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul.
North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program is not on the agenda for the summit, but will be one of the major talking points on the sidelines of the meeting involving some 50 world leaders including Barack Obama and Hu Jintao.
SEOUL DEFENCE ALERT
The South's defense ministry said it had established a team to monitor the rocket launch and would maintain a heightened defense alert for the Security Summit in Seoul through to the rocket launch, scheduled for between April 12 and 16.
Ministry spokesman Yoon Won-shik told reporters that Seoul and Washington would use "surveillance assets" to watch the missile base in Tongchang-ri and follow the flight path after it is launched.
The North says the flight will not impact neighbors.
Yoon said authorities were also on alert in case the North follows up the rocket launch with a nuclear test, as it did in 2009.
Ties between the two Koreas, which are still technically at war, having only signed an armistice to end the 1950-53 Korean War, have hit their lowest level for decades since conservative Lee Myung-bak won the presidency in 2008.
Political analysts say the launch is aimed at boosting the legitimacy of the North's young new ruler, Kim Jong-un, who inherited power after his father's death in December.
The North on Sunday defended the launch, saying, "The peaceful development and use of space is a universally recognized legitimate right of a sovereign state."
Pyongyang says it is using the rocket to launch a satellite to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the country's founding ruler and grandfather of the current ruler.
INTERNATIONAL CONCERN
The launch threatens to derail a food aid deal the North struck with Washington last month. Then, Pyongyang agreed to suspend nuclear tests, missile launches and uranium enrichment and to allow nuclear inspectors into the country.
More troubling, perhaps, for Pyongyang, which is long accustomed to trading invective with Washington, China has called the planned launch a "worry" in a rare attempt to put public pressure on its impoverished ally.
Japan would do its best to prevent any damage from a launch, the country's defense minister said.
"Depending on the situation, we would consider deploying PAC3 missile interceptors and Aegis ships," Naoki Tanaka told lawmakers in the upper house of parliament, according to broadcaster NHK.
"Considering what happened in 2009, we are prepared to do our utmost to prevent any damage to Okinawa and the rest of the country," he said, in reply to a query from an Okinawa lawmaker.
In April 2009, North Korea conducted a ballistic rocket launch that resulted in a new round of U.N. sanctions, squeezing the secretive state's already troubled economy and deepening its isolation.
That launch was dismissed as a failure after the first stage fell into the Sea of Japan without placing a satellite in orbit. Another test failed in similar circumstances in 1998.
(Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul and Stanley White in Tokyo; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
North
Korea says it will launch a long-range rocket to put a satellite into orbit, as
a tribute to its founding president Kim il-sung.But this has stirred alarm in the region, and
the US calls the move highly provocative”.
North
Korea News Report says that “The DPRK will launch a working satellite, made in
North Korea, to mark the 100th birth anniversary of President Kim
il-sung. Aimed
southwards, this long-range rocket is expected to lift off between 12 and 16
April, as a tribute to the country’s founder.But South Korea and Japan quickly condemned the North’s plan
as a threat to regional security.
Under a United Nations resolution, any rocket launch using technology
related to ballistic missiles is forbidden.Looking back to 2009, Musudan
Ri, North Korea (Rocket Launch) was launched in April 5, 2009 this was a
Panchromatic, 50 centimeter (1.6 foot) high-resolution formerly
known as Taepo-dong. UN General Ban Ki Moon referred Resolution 1718 and condenmed such provocative action from North Korea.
Looking back 2009
UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made special remarks at the fifteenth anniversary of the Preparatory
Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) at Vienna in Australia in February 17th, 2012. Nuclear disarmament and
non-proliferation are not utopian ideals which is critical to global peace
and security.
Secreatry of General Ban Ki-moon stated that a world free of nuclear weapons
will be safer and more prosperous.
Governments now spend vast sums of
money to build and test arsenals of death.
The world is over-armed and
development is underfunded. It is time to reverse that equation.
The CTBT was a milestone. It is
an essential building block in strengthening the rule of law in nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation.
That is why it is distressing that
this Treaty has yet to enter into force.
In the meantime, UN is using the
Preparatory Commission’s scientific expertise to protect people from the effects
of natural disasters.
Last year when the earthquake in
Japan damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility, the Treaty’s International
Monitoring System immediately kicked into gear. It helped the Japanese
Government issue warnings. And it provided all countries with critical
information on the spread of radiation.
Secretary of General Ban Ki Moon emphasized that how important value of CTBTO which the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere: on the Earth's surface, in the atmosphere, underwater and underground.
CTBT is important which It makes it very difficult for countries to develop nuclear bombs for the first time, or for countries that already have them, to make more powerful bombs. It also prevents the huge damage caused by radioactivity from nuclear explosions to humans, animals and plants.
It is the world vision to keep peace and a nuclear-weapon-free world in order to have safe environment.
The world and the Critics want to closely monitoring this situation and strongly calling
on North Korea to refrain from this a long range rocket launch for North Korea Founder’s 100th Birth Celebration with The Blast-off
April 12 and 16, 2012 which Critics says it is the may be the North Korea Test Again.
Looking back: North Korea had earthquake 4.3 after test was given in 2006.
Looking back 2009
In June 2009, The United Nations Security Council sent a clear and united message today when they voted unanimously to tighten sanctions on North Korea following the nation’s recent nuclear test and missile firings. The detonation on May 25 of the suspected nuclear device violated the 1953 armistice.
U.N. Resolution 1874 includes a number of measures aimed at stopping North Korea’s nuclear proliferation, including tougher inspections of cargo, an expanded arms embargo, and new financial restrictions on North Korea, curbing loans and money transfers that serve as funding for their nuclear program.
President Obama emphasized that to
prevent rules that binding and violation should purnish requested for strong
international response that North Korea must know. All nation must come
together stronger, for global regime, and must stand shoulder to shoulder
together.
You can see the recent test from north Korea back in August, 2011.
Now it is planning to launching again for a Long Range Rocket again, scheduled to be April 12, April 16 for celebrating the North Korea Founders 100th Birthday. But the world is fear that environmental issues and eco system and climate change and etc., in a small land North Korea than one of the states from United States. Many are saying that North Korea should think GREEN. Many are saying where is nuclear and Missiles money comes from,in addition, where is the launch of scientific and
technological satellite money comes from if they need food and aids for North Korea? CNN February 29th, 2012 report shows that Secretary Hlary Clinton stating that North Korea To Stop Nuclear Testing In Exchange For Food. DOD also reported that it is consider that is destabilizing behavior and urge the
[North] Korean leadership to reconsider this decision and to conform to their
obligations under those sanctions.
Sources: Yahoo, CNN, UN, DOD, Wikipedia, Global security, Space.com and Youtube. catch4all.com,
Sandra Englund, March 19th, 2012
US and South Korea Discuss Leadership Change in North Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A senior U.S. diplomat says Washington is committed to strong ties with Seoul as the allies face a leadership transition in North Korea after Kim Jong Il's death.
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell made the comments Thursday after meetings with South Korean officials in Seoul.
Campbell says Washington is determined to be tightly aligned with Seoul as Kim Jong Il's son Kim Jong Un takes power in North Korea.
Campbell is the highest-level U.S. official to visit the region since Kim's death.
Also on Thursday, North Korea criticized South Korean President Lee Myung-bak for recently urging it to avoid provocation and stop nuclear activities.
The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification warned that Lee's government would face a "stern judgment."
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Also last December 8th, 2012, The US Special Representative for DPRK Policy, Glyn
Davies, has met with senior South Korean government officials to discuss the
two countries' joint approach to Pyongyang's nuclear program. The US envoy
emphasized the importance of North-South dialogue, but little was mentioned of
the likelihood of resuming the 6 party talks.
The US envoy to the DPRK and South Korea's nuclear envoy held a door-stepping
after their 2-hour long meeting on December 8th, 2011. Glyn Davies highlighted
that inter-Korea dialogue is an essential element in the US' policy towards
Pyongyang."
Sources: Yahoo, AP, Wikipedia, and Youtube catch4all.com,
Sandra Englund, January 5th, 2012
North Korean Supreme leader of Kim Jong il has died on December 17, 2011 at 8:30 GMT State Media Announced on Monday
According to Google News /AFP reported December 18th, 2011, North Korean Leader Kim Jong is dead at age of 69 which state media announced Monday that his death caused by a heart attack, plunging the impoverished nuclear-armed nation into uncertainty. However, wikipedia stated that the North Korean government announced his death on 19 December 2011.
The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the leader "passed away from a great mental and physical strain" at 8:30 am on Saturday (2330 GMT Friday), while on a train for one of his "field guidance" tours. CNN also reported that South Korean news agency Yonhap -- which based its reporting on its monitoring off North Korean state television -- said that Kim had died of "physical fatigue" during a train ride. North Korean TV did not provide a more specific cause of death.
The son of Kim Il Song, the founder of the communist nation, Kim Jong Il had been in power since 1994 when his father died of a heart attack at age 82.
The enigmatic leader was a frequent thorn in the side of neighboring South Korea, as well as the United States. There have been reports in recent years about his health, as well as that power will be transitioned to his son, Kim Jong Un.
North Korean news reports earlier this fall indicated that Kim Jong Il had been traveling around the country and visiting China, a big change from 2009 when he was thought to be ill with cancer.
Two senior U.S. military officials said then that they believed the pace of North Korea's planned regime change from Kim to his 20-something son appeared to have slowed.
The son, also known as Kim, started his career as a four-star general and in recent years was given more official duties by his father. Kim Jong-un was promoted to a senior position in the ruling Workers' Party and is heir apparent.
He was the Chairman of the National Defence Commission, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, the ruling party since 1948, and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, the fourth largest standing army in the world. In April 2009, North Korea's constitution was amended and now implicitly refers to him as the "Supreme Leader". He was also referred to as the "Dear Leader", "our Father", "the General" and "Generalissimo".
He has four known children:, Kim Sul-song (daughter born December 30, 1974), Kim Jong-nam (son, born May 10, 1971), Kim Jong-chul (son, born September 25, 1981), and Kim Jong-un (son born 1983 or early 1984).
North Korea's potential next leader made his debut at the largest military parade in the country's history, in front of reporters from 18 different countries. See more detail via youtube report by U.S. Jim Axelrod.
In 1994, North Korea and the United States signed an Agreed Framework which was designed to freeze and eventually dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program in exchange for aid in producing two power-generating nuclear reactors. In 2002, Kim Jong-il's government admitted to having produced nuclear weapons since the 1994 agreement. Kim's regime argued the secret production was necessary for security purposes — citing the presence of United States-owned nuclear weapons in South Korea and the new tensions with the US under President George W. Bush. On 9 October 2006, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency announced that it had successfully conducted an underground nuclear test.
President Obama emphasized that to
prevent rules that binding and violation should purnish requested for strong
international response that North Korea must know. All nation must come
together stronger, for global regime, and must stand shoulder to shoulder
together.
You can see the recent test from north Korea back in August, 2011.
A female newscaster, clad in a black funeral dress, also announced Kim's death on South Korea's state TV.
His youngest son, Kim Jong-un, is tipped as possible successor. He was elected general secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea in late September 2010. He headed the commission for his late father's funeral will take place on December 28, 2011. The North Korean leader suffered a stroke in 2008 and spent several months out of public view. Associated Press said Kim suffered from heart problems and diabetes. According to AFP, the North Korean leader died on December 17, at 8:30 GMT. Global security News shows that South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) placed all military units on emergency alert following the news.
Yahoo AP describes that Kim Jong Un as a great successor of the North's guiding philosophy of self reliance and a distinguished leader of the military and people. North Koreans are told he graduated from Kim Il Sung Military University, speaks several foreign languages, including English, and is a whiz at computing and technology. However, his birth date, his marital status and even the name of his mother — said to be Kim Jong Il's late second wife, Ko Yong Hui — are all secrets.
Media in South Korea speculated that the four-star general orchestrated a deadly artillery attack on a front-line South Korean island last year that led to fears of war.
Because of his young age and inexperience, he might end up the figurehead for a government led by powerful, older relatives, Yoon said.
"Even though Kim Jong Un has been appointed as the successor, they may form a committee to rule the country at first," Yoon said. "His power succession is not completed yet.
Another big question is whether Jong Un will be able to secure the lasting support of Kim Jong Il's younger sister and her powerful husband, Jang Song Thaek.
A technocrat educated in Russia during Soviet times, Jang was a rising star until he was summarily demoted in early 2004 in what analysts believe was a warning from Kim against gathering too much influence. But Kim put Jang back at his side in 2006 and relied heavily on him after reportedly suffering a stroke in 2008.
Yahoo AP from Baijing news also reported that John Delury, an assistant professor at Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies in South Korea, said Korean mourning traditions could require Kim Jong Un to play a more peripheral role for some time, making it difficult to tell whether he is being sidelined.
"The question will be what's the role of the uncle, Jang Song Thaek, said Delury. There's been talk of some sort of regency, so it's very possible that a small, leading group will emerge with Kim Jong Un as the leading person but especially in the first couple years using the tradition of mourning to actually somewhat take a little bit of a back seat. Related Links:
