South Korea: Rocket launch ‘provocative act’

MANILA, Philippines – South Korea labeled the failed North Korean rocket launch as a “provocative act,” as it strongly denounced the incident.

“The Government of the Republic of Korea strongly condemns that the new North Korean leadership pushed forward with the launch,” the statement, released by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) on Friday, April 13, said.

Seoul said Pyongyang disregarded the international community’s call for the launch to be scrapped, and said their northern neighbor “must be held duly accountable for its actions.”

“It is very regrettable that North Korea is spending enormous resources on developing nuclear and missile capabilities while ignoring the urgent welfare issue of the North Korean people such as chronic food shortages,” it said.

Seoul further reiterated that it will protect itself from further nuclear and missile threats from Pyongyang.

“The ROK government is considering comprehensive measures to respond effectively against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, and will take countermeasures against the launch in close coordination with related countries and the international community,” it said.

Yonhap News Agency also said Seoul will call for a “firm” response from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) when it convenes on Friday, April 13 in New York.

“Regardless of its success or failure, we urge the UN Security Council to take firm and unified action against North Korea’s launch of a long-range missile,” Yonhap quoted a senior foreign ministry official.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also talked to South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, and both agreed to “forge close cooperation” against the launch.

The North’s admission of the failure of the rocket launch was also a marked departure from its past.

It has insisted that two previous attempts in 1998 and 2009 to put satellites into orbit succeeded even though both clearly failed.

The rocket exploded mid-air about one or two minutes after its launch Friday morning from the northwestern county of Tongchang-ri, splashing down in the Yellow Sea off South Korea, Seoul’s defense ministry said. – With reports from the Agence France-Presse