ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

U.S., other nations call action 'provocative,' warn of consequences

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | SEOUL, South Korea - Spy satellites trained high-resolution cameras on a coastal North Korean launch pad. U.S., Japan and South Korea deployed warships with radar and other surveillance equipment in the waters near the communist nation — all for one of the most closely watched rocket launches ever.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday preparations were complete to send up what it calls an experimental communications satellite and that liftoff was imminent at its northern Musudan-ri facility. North Korea earlier advised international authorities the launch would take place sometime between Saturday and Wednesday.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo suspect North Korea's real motive is to test its long-range missile technology. The planned launch has sparked alarm because North Korea has acknowledged it has nuclear weapons and has repeatedly broken promises to shelve its nuclear program or halt rocket tests.

President Barack Obama, appearing Friday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Strasbourg, France, called the launch "provocative" and said it should be stopped.

Conditions were cloudy over the launch area Saturday — not perfect, but without the strong winds that could force a delay.

Efforts to persuade North Korea to give up the plan continued, though there were no signs of a last-minute diplomatic breakthrough.

U.N. Security Council diplomats, anticipating a weekend emergency session if the launch proceeds, said a draft resolution had begun circulating that could essentially reaffirm and tighten enforcement of the demands and sanctions of a resolution passed in October 2006 after a North Korean nuclear test. It banned North Korea from ballistic missile activity.

A strong united response likely would prove difficult, however, because China and Russia hold veto power in the council and could argue that nonmilitary space missions are exempt.

Warships to monitor
Two U.S. destroyers are believed to have departed from South Korea to monitor the launch. South Korea is using its destroyer equipped with Aegis ballistic missile defense technology, according to a Seoul military official who asked not to be identified, citing department policy.

North Korea has complained that the U.S. is using high-altitude U-2 spy planes and has warned the aircraft would be shot down.

Japan has deployed warships and Patriot missile interceptors off its northern coast to shoot down any wayward rocket parts that the North has said might fall over the area. Tokyo has said it is only protecting its territory and has no intention of trying to shoot down the rocket itself, but North Korea accused Japan of inciting militarism at home to justify developing a nuclear weapons program of its own.

The North has said its rocket will fly over Japan and its first stage is expected to fall in waters less than 75 miles from Japan's northwestern shore, according to coordinates the government in Pyongyang provided to U.N. agencies. The other zone where the second stage should fall lies in the middle of the Pacific between Japan and Hawaii.

Pressure on Pyongyang to drop the plan has been intense. The U.S., South Korea and Japan discussed the issue with world leaders at the G-20 Summit in London.

China, North Korea's closest ally, said it was working to avert a launch. Beijing has tried to persuade North Korea on several occasions and will attempt to do so "to the last minute," Chinese President Hu Jintao told his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, on Friday in London, according to the South Korean president's spokeswoman, Lee Dong-kwan.

Hu agreed with Lee that the "rocket launch would negatively affect peace and stability in Northeast Asia and there should be a discussion among related countries" after it takes place, Lee's office said.

Obama said the planned launch has put "enormous strains" on international talks over North Korea's disputed nuclear ambitions.

The U.S. will "take appropriate steps to let North Korea know that it can't threaten the safety and security of other countries with impunity," he said.

'Provocative act'
Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. envoy on North Korea, said the communist nation would face consequences if the launch goes ahead.

"Whether it's a satellite launch or a missile launch in our judgment makes no difference. It is a provocative act, and we hope that they will still reconsider," Bosworth said.

But he also said he is prepared to go to Pyongyang after the "dust from the missiles settles" in order to restart six-nation negotiations aimed at getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.

John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and ex-undersecretary of state in charge of the North Korean nuclear dossier, called the launch "essentially an act of defiance against the Security Council."

"A wrist slap by the Security Council won't mean anything and, in fact, I think the North Koreans will take that as a sign of weakness," he said. "It'll say they got away with the test."

North Korea has warned against any efforts to censure it, claiming it has the right to the peaceful use of outer space. It also has threatened retaliation against any efforts to intercept the rocket, telling Japan such a move would mean "war."

South Korea has set up task forces, including at the Defense Ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff, to monitor and swiftly respond to a launch. The Foreign Ministry met Saturday morning to draw up post-launch measures.