|
The third rendition will be North Korea's first working satellite, and is designed to transmit data to the Agriculture and Transportation ministries, said Paek Chang Ho, head of the North's Central Satellite Control Center. However, Brian Weeden, a technical adviser at Secure World Foundation and a former Air Force officer at the U.S. Space Command, said he doubted the launch would succeed in sending a satellite into orbit. He speculated that the end goal is to test and develop their ballistic missile program. The planned launch is a highlight of two weeks of celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's April 15th birthday and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army. North Korea also is preparing to formally install his grandson Kim Jong Un as North Korea's leader with two major political gatherings: a Workers' Party conference on Wednesday and a Supreme People's Assembly session Friday. "As preparations at the pad near completion, Pyongyang is stepping up a public relations campaign intended to project the image of a strong, powerful nation at home and abroad that will culminate in the launch itself," said Joel Wit, visiting fellow at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. On Sunday, The Associated Press was among some 20 news organizations taken to the launch site in North Phyongan province, northwest of Pyongyang, to see preparations. All three stages of the 30-meter-tall Unha-3 rocket were visibly in position at the launch pad, and the 3-foot-tall (1-meter-tall) satellite ready for installation. Kwangmyongsong means "bright, shining star," while Unha means "galaxy." The United States says the launch would jeopardize a U.S.-North Korean agreement that called for providing Pyongyang with much-needed food aid in exchange for a freeze on nuclear activity, including a moratorium on long-range missile tests. The U.N. Security Council, including China, condemned the last launch in April 2009. In protest, North Korea walked away from nuclear disarmament negotiations and conducted an atomic test weeks later that drew tightened U.N. sanctions. On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich was quoted by the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency as saying that Moscow views Pyongyang's plans as "an example of ignoring decisions of the U.N. Security Council." North Korean officials said the U.N. space treaty guarantees every nation's right to develop its space program. "We do not recognize any U.N. Security Council resolution that violates our national sovereignty," Ryu said. "I believe that the right to have a satellite is the universal right of every nation on this planet."
[Associated
Press;
Associated Press writer Foster Klug contributed to this report from Seoul, South Korea.
Follow AP's Korea bureau chief for Pyongyang and Seoul at http://twitter.com/newsjean.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor