Russia, China urge North Korea to drop rocket launch plan

Russia and China urged North Korea on Monday not to go ahead with a plan for its second rocket launch of this year, with Moscow saying any such move would violate restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council.

North Korea’s state news agency on Saturday announced the decision to launch another space satellite and reportedly told neighbours it would take a path similar to that planned for a failed rocket launch in April.

“We urgently appeal to the government (of North Korea) to reconsider the decision to launch a rocket,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

North Korea on Monday notified the UN shipping agency, the International Maritime Organisation, about the launch, which was scheduled to take place between December 10 and December 22.

Coordinates provided by Pyongyang showed the rocket’s first stage drop-off would take place off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula and the second stage would occur off the Philippines – both stages nowhere near Japan.

Echoing its criticism of the April launch, Russia said North Korea had been warned not to ignore a UN Security Council resolution which “unambiguously prohibits (it) from launching rockets using ballistic technology”.