South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on Thursday "strongly" called on North Korea to abandon its plan to launch a long-range rocket, which sparked fresh tensions on the Korean Peninsula ahead of a global nuclear summit scheduled for next week.
The North's planned rocket launch will be discussed bilaterally and multilaterally on the sidelines of the two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul starting Monday, Kim told reporters, as Seoul seeks to raise the issue to increase pressure on Pyongyang.
"North Korea's plan to launch a so-called 'application satellite' will be a clear violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874," said Kim, referring to a 2009 U.N. resolution that bans "any launch using ballistic missile technology."
"The government strongly urges North Korea to immediately stop such a provocative action and comply with its international obligations," Kim said, calling the North's planned rocket launch a "highly provocative act to develop a long-distance delivery means for nuclear weapons by using ballistic missile technology."
While the nuclear summit is primarily aimed at preventing loose nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists, the North's planned rocket launch will be a hot topic outside the gathering.
On the sidelines of the two-day summit, President Lee Myung-bak will hold a series of bilateral summit meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama, China's Hu Jintao, Russia's Dmitry Medvedev and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the issue of the North's planned rocket launch, Kim said.
Obama and Hu are also scheduled to hold a bilateral summit during the nuclear security conference.
South Korea has shared concerns over the North's planned rocket launch with the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, which are members of the stalled six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear weapons program, Kim added.
Last week, North Korea announced its plan to launch a satellite atop a long-range rocket in mid-April, drawing international condemnation. South Korea, the U.S. and others view the North's plan as a cover for testing delivery systems for nuclear missiles.
The North's announcement appears to be in violation of the Feb.
29 deal with the U.S. that calls on Pyongyang to suspend its uranium enrichment and nuclear and missile tests in return for 240,000 tons of U.S. food aid.
The North's tactic marked the first tension, or possible diplomatic gamble with the U.S. for more concessions, generated by its new leader Kim Jong-un, who inherited power in December following death of his father, Kim Jong-il, analysts said.
The planned launch will mark the 100th birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung, North Korea's founder and grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap News)
