Agency: North Korea plans satellite launch this month

North Korea has indicated that it will launch a satellite sometime between February 8-25, a United Nations agency said Tuesday – a launch that has drawn American concerns because of the rocket to be used.

An official at the London-based International Maritime Organization said North Korea declared that the launch would be conducted between February 8 and 25, between 7 a.m. and noon Pyongyang time.

Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported that North Korea also notified the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union “via diplomatic channels” that it will launch a Kwangmyongsong (Bright Star) -type satellite with a four-year operational life later this month.

The declaration follows North Korea’s claim last month to have tested a hydrogen bomb, the country’s fourth nuclear test.

In Washington, Daniel Russel, the top diplomat for East Asia, said the US was closely tracking reports of the North’s planned launch.

“The U.N. Security Council has a role to play by holding it (Pyongyang) accountable by imposing a tough, comprehensive and credible package of new sanctions and by ensuring vigorous enforcement of the resolutions already adopted”, spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

It is required for countries to give worldwide organizations advance notice of rocket launch plans to warn planes and ships to stay away from the areas to be affected by launches.

Pyongyang has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme by launching rockets, although the U.S. and other governments worry that such launches are missile tests in disguise.

Russel said a launch, “using ballistic missile technology”, would be an “egregious violation” of North Korea’s global obligations. Though speculation of a launch had been growing for about a week, experts say that with underground railways, giant tarps and a movable launch pad structure in place the North is getting a lot better at hiding its preparations. Most experts, however, agree that North Korea has yet to master the technology to fit a nuclear warhead onto such a missile.

That test sparked fears that the North has moved closer to ultimately developing nuclear-tipped missiles that could potentially reach the mainland United States.

Kerry described North Korea’s growing nuclear capability and related missile technology as a “threat the United States must take extremely seriously” during a joint news conference with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi. North Korea booted out global inspectors in 2009, and independent assessments by outside experts since then have been spotty.