North Korea has scheduled a satellite launch for early next month, South Korean officials said yesterday, as Washington and Seoul told Pyongyang to scrap what they see as a disguised missile test.
Pyongyang has informed the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that it will fire a rocket to launch the satellite between April 4 and April 8, an official at Seoul’s maritime affairs ministry said.
Citing information from the IMO, the official said the North had told the UN regulatory agency of two risk areas, one in the Pacific Ocean and the other in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
“The IMO is currently working on an official safety notice, which it will soon hand out to its member countries,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Earlier yesterday, the North said it had provided “necessary information for the safe navigation of planes and ships” as part of preparations for launching “an experimental communications satellite.”
South Korean and US officials believe the real intention is to test a Taepodong-2 missile that could theoretically reach Alaska.
The nuclear-armed North has asserted its right to peaceful space research and says any attempt to shoot down its rocket will be seen as an act of war.
There have been reports for weeks that the North is preparing to test-fire the Taepodong-2 from a base at Musudan-ri on the northeast coast.
The missile failed after 40 seconds when first launched in July 2006, and the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for a halt to such tests.
Three months after that, the North staged an atomic weapons test. It is unclear whether it has the capability to manufacture a nuclear warhead.
Seoul’s Yonhap news agency said a missile has not been set upright at Musudan-ri, but launch preparations could be completed within two weeks.
Tensions are already high after Pyongyang ordered its military on combat alert and banned South Korean airlines from its airspace. It was protesting an ongoing US-South Korean military exercise, which it sees as a rehearsal for invasion.
North Korea also announced it had joined an international treaty and convention on the peaceful use of space. South Korea’s foreign ministry confirmed that Pyongyang this month sent relevant documents to Russia’s foreign ministry and to the UN.
“The North’s accession to the treaty is aimed at paving the way for claiming that the launch, which may come in the future, is to put a satellite in orbit,” spokesman Moon Tae-young said. “Irrespective of those moves, such a launch would be a breach of UN Resolution 1718.”
Japan’s government said it “would not tolerate” any North Korean act that raises regional tensions.
Russia’s chief nuclear negotiator, Alexei Borodavkin, urged restraint.
“There should be restraint, there should be an evading of any actions which could undermine security and stability on the peninsula,” he told reporters after talks with his Seoul counterpart, Wi Sung-lac.
Asked whether any launch would violate a UN resolution, Borodavkin replied: “Let us wait and see what will be the real technical parameters of this launch.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source