Nations to Pursue U.N. Action if N. Korea Fires Rocket

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Dec. 6, 2012

South Koreans on Thursday protest against North Korea's announced plans to launch a long-range rocket later this month. The United States on Wednesday said it would join Asian allies in seeking a U.N. Security Council response should the launch occur (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man).
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday said the United States and partner Asian governments would demand a U.N. Security Council response should North Korea disregard international demands and proceed with launching its space rocket later this month, the Associated Press reported.
Japan, South Korea, and the United States have agreed to pursue action at the Security Council, "but I'm not going to get into what that might be," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said to journalists. He noted that "there's always ways to toughen enforcement of sanctions."
Pyongyang has been under heightened Security Council sanctions for several years. The economic restrictions target its nuclear and ballistic missile development programs and ban the North from engaging in arms deals on the international market. The export of luxury goods to North Korea is also forbidden.
Washington and its allies oppose Pyongyang's plans to fire a Unha 3 long-range rocket as a violation of U.N. restrictions against the North's use of ballistic missile technology. The Stalinist state has declared it will fire its rocket sometime between Dec. 10 and 22 with the aim of placing a satellite in orbit. However, international opinion holds that the launch is cover for another long-range ballistic missile test, which the pariah nation has yet to carry out successfully in four previous attempts.
The head of U.S. forces stationed in Japan on Thursday said Pyongyang's coming rocket launch was creating "a very dangerous situation," AP separately reported. Lt. Gen. Salvatore Angelella said U.S. military personnel in Japan were "monitoring the situation closely."
NATO on Wednesday demanded Pyongyang abandon its rocket plans, Reuters reported. "Such an act would be in direct violation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874. It would risk exacerbating tensions in the region and further destabilizing the Korean Peninsula," the military bloc said in a statement.
The U.S. special envoy for North Korea policy, Glyn Davies, on Wednesday suggested the Obama administration and China are jointly considering options for signaling to Pyongyang it must give up its launch plans, Kyodo News reported. As North Korea's leading economic benefactor, Beijing is seen as having special sway with the Kim Jong Un government.
Davies hinted that Washington had already personally communicated its demands to Pyongyang, possibly through the North's U.N. office in New York.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on Thursday said Seoul is similarly in discussions with Beijing on potential responses to a North Korean rocket launch, according to a Yonhap News Agency report.
North Korea's announced flight path calls for the rocket to fly above the Yellow Sea, dropping its first stage in the ocean some 87 miles west of South Korea and then losing its second stage roughly 85 miles to the east of the Philippines, according to Wired. That route is in line with the North's intentions for its most recent rocket launch.
The attempt in April turned into a high-profile embarrassment for the Kim regime when the rocket broke apart only a minute-and-a-half after lifting off. A number of experts are doubtful Pyongyang has had enough time to fix the problems that caused the launch failure.
"I think it’s too soon to tell about whether they’ve improved their capability," Secure World Foundation missile analyst Victoria Samson stated by e-mail. "However, based on the splash-down zones that Pyongyang submitted to the International Maritime Organization, this satellite launch is expected to follow pretty much the same flight path as the April attempt, so I’m guessing that they will be testing roughly the same technology this time around."
"I think it’s easy to read too much into this launch. The North Koreans have been trying for years to successfully launch the technology needed for a long-range ballistic missile/satellite launch vehicle," she cautioned.
If all three rocket stages perform correctly, it would mark a notable development for the North's space flight efforts, which are not advanced, according to Samson. "At the risk of sounding glib, this is rocket science and it is complicated. Their missile program is based on reverse-engineering old Soviet ballistic missiles; their space program does not have that strong of a foundation to work off of."
Meanwhile, Tokyo is slated to reach an official determination on Friday whether to issue an intercept order if it appears the North's rocket or its debris are likely to land on Japanese territory, according to a Jiji Press report. The Japanese government was prepared to attempt an intercept if necessary in April.
Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missiles are being positioned on Okinawa islands in readiness of a possible intercept order. PAC-3 missiles are also being positioned to protect Tokyo. Additionally, Japan is fielding Aegis warships with Standard Missile 3 antimissile systems in the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.