South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Thursday said a planned rocket launch by North Korea could “never be tolerated,” as her defence ministry vowed to shoot down any missile that threatened its territory.
Pyongyang has announced it will launch a satellite-bearing rocket sometime between February 8-25, which is around the time of the birthday on February 16 of late leader Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.
UN sanctions prohibit North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology, and such a launch would amount to another major violation of UN Security Council resolutions following its fourth nuclear test last month.
“The fact that North Korea said it will launch a long-range missile following its nuclear test is a threat to peace on the Korean peninsula and to the world, and should never be tolerated,” Park said.
The North insists its space programme is purely scientific in nature, but the United States and allies like South Korea say its rocket launches are aimed at developing an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking the US mainland.
South Korean officials routinely refer to them as “long-range missiles” rather than space rockets.