Pyongyang rocket launch plan draws Tokyo shootdown order

North Korea on Tuesday informed worldwide organizations of its plans…

Pyongyang has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme, although the United States and other governments suspect such rocket launches are tests of its missiles.

The timing couldn’t have appeared worse.

Nakatani had issued the order, citing the “possibility that North Korea will launch a missile it calls a “satellite” within coming days”, the statement added. In diplomatic terms, it was yet another sign of…

UN resolutions forbid the North from any use of ballistic missile technology, and Tuesday s announcement saw Pyongyang doubling down against an worldwide community already struggling to come up with a united response to last month s nuclear test.

A successful launch could give momentum for the U.S.’s effort to build an integrated missile defense network with South Korea and Japan, a move strongly opposed by Beijing.

The North in January conducted a nuclear test without notifying Beijing beforehand, in another sign of deep fissures in their alliance.

Chinese state media has condemned North Korea’s latest plans and warned Pyongyang would pay a “severe price” for its provocations. North Korea booted out worldwide inspectors in 2009, and independent assessments by outside experts since then have been spotty.

Commercial satellite imagery has shown renewed activity at the Horizontal Processing Facility, where the rocket stages undergo final checks before being assembled and transported to the launch pad. Another fear is South Korea absorbing its northern neighbor, leaving a well-armed USA ally on China’s frontier.

The Yomiuri ShimbunThe worldwide community must stand united and ratchet up the pressure on North Korea to deter that nation from advancing its nuclear and missile programs.

China urged restraint Wednesday over North Korea’s announcement of its launch plans, and expressed skepticism over the US calls for tough new sanctions.

Some analysts now claim that the renovations on North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Station indicate preparations for a rocket more powerful than any that the country has tested so far.

Japan plans to deploy land-based missile interceptors in the southwestern islands of Okinawa Prefecture as it ramps up defenses against the anticipated launch of what it views as a North Korean ballistic missile.

Additionally, Chinese state companies, private businesses and financial institutions are the chiefly beneficiaries of other countries’ shunning North Korea, dealing in fields from tourism to mineral extraction. Each new rocket launch improves North Korea’s missile technology, which is crucial for its goal of developing a nuclear-armed missile capable of hitting the US mainland.

“The Japanese are anxious about this because the North Korean missile program doesn’t have a very good record”.