SEOUL, Sept. 14 (UPI) — North Korea declared it has a “sovereign right” to launch satellites – a statement that could be an indication Pyongyang has plans to launch a rocket in October to commemorate a major anniversary.
In an announcement late Monday, North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration said that it is “pushing forward in the final phase in the development of a new earth observation satellite for weather forecast,” Yonhap reported.
“The world will clearly see a series of satellites of (North) Korea soaring into the sky at the times and locations determined by the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea,” North Korea said in a KCNA statement published in English. South Korean newspaper Korea Economic Daily reported the statement was an indication North Korea was planning a long-range missile launch to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party on Oct. 10.
“The people of [North Korea] are fully determined to exercise this right no matter what others may say about it,” Pyongyang said.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen told Yonhap that the government is not speculating on the timing of the statement of any possible provocative actions by North Korea, but recent satellite imagery has shown a 67-meter high gantry had been built for use in a future launch.
North Korea launched rockets in 2012 at Sohae Satellite Launching Station near the China border. The expandable carrier rocket Unha-3 fell into the Yellow Sea, and the debris of a second stage launch fell into the Philippine Sea after an object had entered orbit. The actions violated international law and an agreement that Pyongyang would stop missile launches.
North Korea is under U.N. sanctions for conducting nuclear tests and for violating the agreement.
