South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday called for the international community to “respond decisively” if North Korea launches a satellite.
“Any launch using ballistic missile technology is a direct violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and undermines regional and global peace and stability,” Yoon said.
Yoon’s warning came after media reports that North Korea notified the Japanese government of its plans on the eve of a trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan and China on Monday.
According to Kyodo News Agency and Japanese public broadcaster NHK, Japan’s Cabinet Secretariat said on Sunday that North Korea had informed it of plans to launch a rocket carrying a satellite before June 4.
The North designated three areas where debris will fall -- two west of the Korean Peninsula and the other east of the Philippine island of Luzon, according to the reports.
Last week, the South Korean military said it had detected signs of Pyongyang preparing for a military spy satellite launch at a site on its west coast.
North Korea launched its first military reconnaissance satellite in November and has made public a plan to launch three more this year.
Yoon, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will sit down for a trilateral summit on Monday, the ninth such meeting and the first since December 2019, following a hiatus due to COVID-19 and historical disputes among the Asian neighbors.
Although security issues like North Korea’s nuclear program are not among the official agenda items, South Korean officials told reporters that final negotiations were underway to decide whether and how much they would address the North Korean issue in a joint statement.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Taejun Kang for RFA.
By Taejun Kang for RFA | Radio Free (2024-05-27T04:14:53+00:00) South Korea condemns North’s plan to launch a satellite. Retrieved from https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/nkorea-satellite-launch-plan-05272024001351.html
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