. Energy News .




.
NUKEWARS
World powers urge NKorea to drop satellite launch
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) March 16, 2012

UN leader warns N. Korea against rocket launch
United Nations (AFP) March 16, 2012 - UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Friday called on North Korea not to carry out a rocket launch next month which he warned could breach UN sanctions resolutions.

"The secretary general urges (North Korea) to reconsider its decision in line with its recent undertaking to refrain from long-range missile launches," said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky after the North said it would launch a satellite on a long-range rocket in April.

Ban "is seriously concerned" by North Korea's announced launch, said the spokesman.

The UN leader reaffirmed his call on the North "to fully comply with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, particularly including the resolution 1874 (from 2009) which bans 'any launch using ballistic missile technology.'"

UN Security Council Resolution 1874 was passed after the North's second nuclear bomb test in 2009.

North Korea announced earlier it would launch a rocket carrying a satellite next month, just 16 days after agreeing to suspend long-range missile tests in return for massive US food aid.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have condemned the plan.

Britain, one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, said North Korea would be in violation of UN sanctions resolutions if it followed through on the threatened operation.

"If this launch goes ahead our understanding is that it would be a violation of Security Council resolutions," said Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant. Britain is the council president for March.


World powers on Friday urged North Korea to drop plans for a satellite launch in order to save a new deal where Pyongyang halts nuclear and missile activities in return for massive food aid.

The United States, Japan, South Korea and Russia -- partners in troubled nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea -- all condemned the isolated Stalinist state's plan to launch a rocket carrying a satellite next month.

There was no immediate reaction from China, the remaining partner in the six-party negotiations and the one deemed to have the most influence with Pyongyang.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington had "grave concerns" that a February 29 nuclear-missile-and-food deal could be saved after she issued a statement denouncing the satellite launch as "highly provocative."

In her pre-dawn statement, issued just hours after the North Korean announcement, Nuland said the satellite launch would be a threat to regional security and breach a United Nations ban imposed after previous launches.

She told reporters later that US diplomats had "unequivocally" warned their North Korean counterparts in negotiations weeks ago that a satellite launch would be a "deal-breaker" as the rocket amounted to a long-range missile.

Nuland said at stake was President Barack Obama's administration efforts to move ahead on a long-mulled plan to send 240,000 metric tons of food aid to the impoverished state which suffered a famine in the 1990s.

Though food aid was not directly linked to the rest of the deal, she said, the rocket launch raised questions whether Pyongyang had negotiated in "good faith" and could be trusted to carry out the terms for delivering food aid.

"Were we to have a launch, it would create, obviously, tensions and that would make the implementation of any kind of nutritional agreement quite difficult," Nuland said.

"It's very hard to imagine how we would be able to move forward with a regime whose word we have no confidence in and who has egregiously violated its international" obligations, Nuland told reporters.

In a sign of the matter's urgency, Nuland said, Glyn Davies, the US pointman on North Korea, had by daylight spoken over the telephone to all of Washington's partners in the six-party talks, except for North Korea.

"The agreement is for everyone to use their influence with the DPRK (North Korea) to encourage them not to make this launch and not to violate their international obligations and to recommit to the leap day agreement," she said.

In Seoul, the South Korean foreign ministry said a rocket launch would be a "grave, provocative act threatening peace and security on the Korean peninsula" as it would breach UN Security Council resolution 1874.

It urged the North to "immediately stop this provocative act."

In Tokyo, Japan's chief cabinet secretary Osamu Fujimura urged North Korea to abandon its launch plans, saying any rocket firing would be in contravention of international rules and could damage regional stability.

In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said the North Korean announcement "provokes serious concern" and urged Pyongyang to reconsider.

In New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on North Korea not to carry out a rocket launch which he warned could breach UN sanctions resolutions.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Ban reaffirmed his call on the North to comply with resolution 1874 from 2009 "which bans 'any launch using ballistic missile technology.'"

UN Security Council Resolution 1874 was passed after the North's second nuclear bomb test in 2009.

Related Links
Unha launcher series
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries




N. Korea rocket launch would violate sanctions: Britain
United Nations (AFP) March 16, 2012 - A leading UN Security Council member said Friday that North Korea would be in violation of UN sanctions resolutions if it followed through on a threat to launch a rocket carrying a satellite.

"If this launch goes ahead our understanding is that it would be a violation of Security Council resolutions," said Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant.

Britain is one of five permanent members of the 15-nation council and also the council president for March.

UN Security Council Resolution 1874, passed after the North's second nuclear test in 2009, demands that it "not conduct any further nuclear test or any launch using ballistic missile technology."

North Korea announced Friday it would launch a rocket carrying a satellite next month, just 16 days after agreeing to suspend long-range missile tests in return for massive US food aid.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have condemned the plan.

Russia 'seriously concerned' at North Korea rocket plan
Moscow (AFP) March 16, 2012 - The Russian foreign ministry said Friday it was concerned about North Korea's plan to launch a rocket carrying a satellite next month.

"The announcement about the planned launch in North Korea of a satellite provokes serious concern," the ministry said in a statement on its website, warning Pyongyang not to breach a UN Security Council resolution.

North Korea is prohibited by the resolution from launching any rocket, "whether it is military rockets or civilian booster rockets," the ministry said.

"We call on Pyongyang not to oppose the international community, to refrain from actions that aggravate the situation in the region and create further impediments for relaunching the six-party talks on the Korean peninsula's nuclear issue," it said.

"We expect the maximum restraint from all sides."

Pyongyang announced earlier Friday that it would launch a rocket between April 12-16 to put a satellite into orbit and mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of founding president Kim Il-Sung.

The announcement triggered alarm in Japan, while the United States called the plan "highly provocative".

Russia has been a member of the stalled six-party negotiations on the North Korean nuclear crisis and enjoys some access to the Stalinist state's leaders thanks to the two nations' Soviet-era ties.



.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



NUKEWARS
North Korea rocket launch plan sparks US threat
Seoul (AFP) March 16, 2012
North Korea announced Friday it would launch a rocket carrying a satellite next month, sparking widespread condemnation and US threats that it could put much-needed food aid in jeopardy. The United States, Japan and South Korea said the plan, announced just 16 days after Pyongyang agreed to suspend long-range missile tests in return for the US food aid, would breach a UN ban imposed after pr ... read more


NUKEWARS
Australia lagging in carbon cuts

Is there a future in the US for renewables without federal incentives?

UN emission market needs urgent reform

Renewable Energy Investments Result in Nevada Jobs and Business Expansion

NUKEWARS
Iraq bans security firms on oil fields

Researchers create more efficient hydrogen fuel cells

France's Total eyes new China tie-up: report

Gazprom considering bid for Greece's DEPA

NUKEWARS
AREVA delivers M5000 turbines for Trianel's Borkum wind farm

Project Financing of Second Largest Wind Park in Italy Completed

US wind generation increases by 27 percent

S.Africa unveils wind atlas in renewable energy push

NUKEWARS
Intersolar Europe 2012 Spotlights Large-Scale Photovoltaics

NextEra Energy Resources Completes Acquisition of Ontario Solar Projects from First Solar

KYOCERA Supplies Solar Modules for England's First "Zero Carbon Church"

SANYO Solar is to Present Their New Look as Panasonic Solar at Ecobuild

NUKEWARS
India to start work on stalled nuclear plant

80% in Japan support nuclear phase-out: poll

N-power capacity failed to rise: Economic Survey

Tamil Nadu okays Kudankulam n-plant

NUKEWARS
Novel plastics and textiles from waste with the use of microbes

A Fragrant New Biofuel

Primus Green Energy Raises Funds for Renewable Gasoline Technology

U.S. Navy OKs test with algal fuel blend

NUKEWARS
Shenzhou-9 may take female astronaut to space

China to launch 100 satellites during 2011-15

Three for Tiangong

China hopes to send Long March-5 rocket into space in 2014

NUKEWARS
Climate: Nine bids to host future technology centre

Fielding questions about climate change

Bright is the new black: New York roofs go cool

Warming of 2 degrees inevitable over Canada


Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement