Japan urges N. Korea to cancel satellite launch+

TOKYO, March 13 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso warned in a strongly worded message to North
Korea on Friday that its planned rocket launch must be called off even if it is
intended for a satellite program as Pyongyang says.
''No matter what the claim is, be it a manmade satellite, it will be a blatant
breach of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718,'' Aso told reporters. ''Japan
must lodge a stern protest through the United Nations and resolutely demand it
be called off.''
Later in the day, Aso indicated he would seek to have the U.N. Security Council
adopt a sanction resolution by cooperating with the United States and South
Korea if the object is launched.
''There is no country which has test-fired an intercontinental ballistic
missile passing above another country. In that sense, I have no intention to
allow (the object) to pass above Japan without asking permission,'' Aso said in
an interview with Kyodo News. ''Japan will decisively urge North Korea to halt
the plan.''
''We need to respond properly to this issue'' by cooperating with countries
including the United States and South Korea if the object flies toward the
Pacific Ocean, Aso added.
Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone separately told a news conference
that the United States and Britain share the skeptical view with Japan about
the North's launch program and that the U.N. Security Council should discuss
the issue in case North Korea fires off a rocket.
''As the U.N. resolutions prohibit (North Korea) from engaging in ballistic
missile activities, we still consider it to be a violation of a technical
aspect, even if (the North) claims it is a satellite,'' Nakasone said.
''We will discuss the matter with related countries based on this view,'' he
added.
Nakasone declined to comment on whether Japan will impose additional sanctions
against North Korea if the launch is implemented.
North Korea has informed international organizations of its plan to launch a
satellite between April 4 and 8, as some countries continue to suspect it is a
cover for test-firing of a long-range ballistic missile.
Defense experts say both satellite launch vehicles and ballistic missiles use
the same rocket technology.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told a news conference separately that
the International Maritime Organization has told Japan that the North had
informed the international agency of the satellite launch plan.
Kawamura expressed a view that Japan is able to intercept the object to secure
safety if it looks like it will fall onto Japan, but the law does not allow
Japan to shoot it down if it passes over the country.
==Kyodo
2009-03-13 22:25:33