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N. Korea Rejects Rocket Launch Criticism as China Cautions Ally
By Andy Sharp - Mar 18, 2012 11:00 PM GMT+0800
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-18/china-presses-n-korea-on-rocket-launch-as-japan-weighs-options.html
North Korea rejected internationalcriticism of its planned satellite launch next month as Chinacautioned its ally in the first sign of tension since Kim Jong Un succeeded his father as head of the totalitarian state.
U.S., Japanese and South Korean condemnation is “a basemove to deny the DPRK’s right to use space for peaceful purposesand encroach upon its sovereignty,” the official Korean CentralNews Agency said yesterday, referring to the country’s officialname, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. North Korea hasno intention of canceling its plans, KCNA said.
Enlarge image 
Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea. Source: KNS/AFP/Getty Images
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun expressed his“worry” over the March 16 announcement to North Koreanambassador Ji Jae Ryong, the Foreign Ministry said in astatement. The U.S. said the launch, which is to mark the 100thanniversary of state founder Kim Il Sung’s birth, would negatean agreement to provide food aid in exchange for a North Koreanmoratorium on nuclear and missile tests.
North Korea is dependent on energy and food assistance fromChina, which has sought to support its neighbor to avoid unrestthat could hinder trade and prompt a wave of refugees across itsborder. Kim Jong Un took over after his father Kim Jong Il diedin December and the launch is part of an effort by the regime tobolster his image ahead of his grandfather’s April 15 centennial.
China “doesn’t want to give the impression it’s supportingwhat North Korea is doing,” said Robert Dujarric, director ofthe Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple Universityin Tokyo. “It’s tough for Beijing. They have to criticize it,but they can’t do much more.”
‘Sincerely Hope’ “We sincerely hope parties concerned stay calm andexercise restraint and avoid escalation of tension that may leadto a more complicated situation,” Zhang told Ji, according tothe statement. China has noted the international reaction toNorth Korea’s announcement, Zhang said.
Japan is considering using its Aegis missile defense systemto shoot the North Korean rocket down if it enters its territory,the Nikkei and Yomiuri newspapers said, without saying wherethey got the information. Japan made similar considerations in2009, when North Korea fired a rocket it claimed was a satellitein defiance of the United Nations.
“You may want to hit it before it looks like it’s going tohit Japan,” Dujarric said. “You don’t want to fire at it if itclearly isn’t going to hit Japanese territory because no onewants an escalation with North Korea.”
International experts and journalists will be invited towatch the launch, KCNA said on March 17.
‘Peaceful Purposes’ The Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite will be mounted on a Unha-3rocket and sent from a station in North Phyongan provincebetween April 12 and April 16, a spokesman for the North KoreanCommittee for Space Technology said in a statement reported byKCNA. The launch is for “peaceful purposes” and will“strictly abide by relevant international regulations,” theunidentified spokesman said.
The announcement is “highly provocative” and a launchwould violate UN resolutions prohibiting North Korea’s use ofballistic missile technology, U.S. State Department spokeswomanVictoria Nuland said last week. The Obama administration hastold North Korea going ahead with the mission would be a “dealbreaker” for the food-aid agreement, she said.
Under the deal reached in February, the U.S. agreed toprovide an initial 240,000 metric tons of food in monthly20,000-ton increments. The accord opened the possibility for theresumption of six-party talks to persuade North Korea to abandonits nuclear weapons development.
North Korea backed out of the talks, which include Russia,China, the U.S., Japan and South Korea, shortly after its April2009 satellite test and has shown no sign that it’s willing toresume them.
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