Americas

Americas

Clinton urges DPRK to drop satellite launch

11 April 2012 01:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday urged the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to drop its planned satellite launch, terming the move as a threat to regional security, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"I would just underscore that if North Korea wants a peaceful, better future for their people, it should not conduct another launch that would be a direct threat to regional security," she told reporters after meeting with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba.

The DPRK last month announced its plan to launch an "earth observation" satellite between April 12 and 16 to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of DPRK founder Kim Il Sung. The upcoming launch has triggered global concerns.

Earlier the day, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the planned "missile launch" by the DPRK would violate its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874. The two relevant resolutions prohibit Pyongyang from conducting launches that use ballistic missile technology.

However, Ryu Gum Chol, an official from DPRK’s Korean Committee for Space Technology, on Tuesday dismissed accusation of the satellite launch as a cover for missile test, saying the 91-ton three-stage rocket doesn’t have the same "attack power" as a ballistic missile.