NK launch is preemptive move, ‘complicates situation'

By Jiang Jie and Bai Yunyi Source:Globaltimes.cn Published: 2016-2-7 12:16:22

A video grab taken on Feb. 7, 2016 from South Korean TV shows the news report on the launch of a long-range rocket by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in Seoul, South Korea. The DPRK on Sunday launched a long-range rocket as planned, Yonhap news agency reported citing South Korea's defense authorities. Photo: Xinhua


 
North Korea on Sunday went through with plans to launch a long range rocket, sparking concern from the international community. Analysts said the launch, which came earlier than previous announcements proclaimed it would, shows Pyongyang's determination to stick to its own agenda and preempt possible actions by others.

The rocket was fired at about 9:30 am local time from the Tongchang-ri launch station on its west coast, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported, citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pyongyang had previously said it would launch the rocket sometime between February 8 and 25.

Its pre-orbital flight arc was planned to traverse the Yellow Sea and head further south to the Philippine Sea, Reuters said, adding that the launch, though labeled as a purely scientific space program, was viewed as a disguised missile test. 

The South Korean military detected the rocket launchand tracked its trajectory, reporting, according to Yonhap, that it succeeded in the first-stage separation and shed its payload fairing near South Korea's Jeju Island. . The success of the mission is as yet unclear, though one Korean military official told Yonhap that a satellite was probably successfully launched.

North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012 to place an earth-observation satellite in orbit, following an earlier failed launch that April. 

Analysts pointed out that the North's latest move highlighted its determination to become a nuclear-weapons state, but may incur further sanctions, harming the country's economy and complicating the situation on the Peninsula.

"The North has a staunch determination to carry out its nuclear plan, which will not be affected by external conditions - a fact that many have underestimated," Zhang Liangui, a professor at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, told the Global Times. 

Lü Chao, a professor at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the early launch of the rocket indicates a deliberate and well-planned preemptive move amid an intense situation when the North's announcement of the rocket launch met pledges from Japan and the South to intercept it. 

Lü added that the fact of a rocket launch announcement is more important than its failure or success afterward. "The nation has failed in multiple rocket launches, which was announced as successful to inspire its citizens and to show a strong attitude of its government."

 "The two-time announcement of its rocket-launch aimed to show an open attitude toward safe space exploitation by the North," Lü said. 

"The launch is part of North Korea's military plan, as it has to enhance its ability to miniaturize nuclear weapons and advance missile carriers," said Gao Fei, a professor of Russian studies at the China Foreign Affairs University. 

Lü added that the launch will also pave the way for the seventh Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in May to demonstrate Kim Jong-un's sole and absolute leadership, as the sixth congress held over three decades ago confirmed then ruler Kim Jong-il's status. 

The White House has said that any satellite launch by North Korea would be viewed as "another destabilizing provocation," Reuters reported.

The launch will further complicate the Peninsula situation and have cast negative impact on the efforts to reopen the Six-Party talks, said a Sunday commentary of the Xinhua News Agency, adding that a negative ecycle will be formed with increased confrontations between the North and countries like the US. "The risks of frictions and conflicts outbreak have sharply risen, even wars may follow."

China has advised North Korea to exercise restraint and refrain from any actions that might escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula, while warning other countries against taking any action to deepen confrontations.

China is dedicated to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and calls for all parties to solve the peninsular issue through dialogue and consultation, Chinese President Xi Jinping told South Korean President Park Geun-hye over the phone on Friday, when the defense authorities of South Korea, the US and Japan also held a video conference to share intelligence to prepare for the rocket launch. 

The Six-Party Talks have been suspended since North Korea withdrew on April 14, 2009 in protest against the UN Security Council's condemnation of North Korea's launch of a satellite 10 days earlier.

A video grab taken on Feb. 7, 2016 from South Korean TV shows the news report on the launch of a long-range rocket by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in Seoul, South Korea. The DPRK on Sunday launched a long-range rocket as planned, Yonhap news agency reported citing South Korea's defense authorities. (Xinhua/Jiang Ye)


 

A video grab taken on Feb. 7, 2016 from South Korean TV shows the news report on the launch of a long-range rocket by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in Seoul, South Korea. The DPRK on Sunday launched a long-range rocket as planned, Yonhap news agency reported citing South Korea's defense authorities. (Xinhua/Jiang Ye)


 

Agencies contributed to this story



Posted in: Asia-Pacific

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