South Korea has instructed domestic and foreign ships to reroute their courses in the West Sea to avoid any possible collisions with falling debris from a long-range rocket that Pyongyang could launch, the government said Friday.
The precautionary move comes as North Korea informed the International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization that it will fire off the Unha-3 rocket between Dec. 10-22 during the hours of 7 a.m. and noon to put a satellite into orbit.
The rocket’s first stage and its cover could fall in waters about 140 kilometers west of Buan in North Jeolla Province and about 88 kilometers west of the southern island of Jeju, respectively, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said, citing North Korea’s coordinates provided to the international organizations.
The ministry said it has told 40 domestic and foreign commercial and fishing boats to reroute their courses in the West Sea for five hours during the North’s 13-day launch window.
The ministry also said it will closely monitor whether any South Korean ships will pass through waters east of the Philippines ― an area where the rocket’s second stage would fall.
South Korea has also instructed its two major carriers, Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc., to reroute some 58 flights over the Yellow Sea and the Philippines during the North’s launch window, according to Kim Jae-young, a ministry official handling the aviation issue.
No collisions occurred in April when North Korea’s long-range rocket exploded shortly after liftoff. (Yonhap News)
