News / Koreas

North Korea to pay severe price for missile launch: South

Wednesday, 03 February 2016 5:41 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 03 February 2016 5:40 AM ]

A man watches a news report on North Korea's missile launch on February 3, 2015. (AFP photo)

South Korea has warned the neighboring North of a “severe price” if it proceeds with a plan to launch a long-range missile later this month.

On Tuesday, North Korea gave a shipping warning to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) over its plan to launch an "earth observation satellite" some time between February 8 and 25.

An IMO spokesman said North Korea informed the UN agency that it will launch the 'Kwangmyongsong' satellite.

The International Telecommunication Union also said that the agency was notified by Pyongyang that it planned to launch a satellite with a functional duration of four years in a non-geostationary orbit.

South Korea’s Presidential Blue House said in a statement on Wednesday that Pyongyang is not going to launch an observation satellite but a long-range missile, adding that Pyongyang should immediately call off the launch as it is a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

"North Korea's notice of the plan to launch a long-range missile, coming at a time when there is a discussion for Security Council sanctions on its fourth nuclear test, is a direct challenge to the international community," said the Blue House.

"We strongly warn that the North will pay a severe price ... if it goes ahead with the long-range missile launch plan," it added

A PAC-3 missile launcher is seen in position on the grounds of the defense ministry in Tokyo on January 30, 2016. (AFP photo)

UN resolutions ban North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology. In December 2012, the UN imposed sanctions following the country’s previous rocket launch.

Also on Wednesday, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the North Korean plan.

"If North Korea goes ahead and launches the rocket, it would clearly violate UN Security Council resolutions and pose a serious provocation," Abe told the parliament.

Meanwhile, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said that PAC-3 surface-to-air missile defense systems were deployed to three bases in and around the capital, Tokyo.

Nakatani also said that Tokyo will take “every possible measure” to deal with any threat linked to Pyongyang’s possible ballistic missile launch.

North Korea says it has a right to pursue scientific programs through launching rockets. The US and its regional allies, however, believe that the launches are part of Pyongyang’s efforts to build an intercontinental ballistic missile.

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