North Korea’s young despot, Kim Jong-un,
shown here aboard a
military
vessel. While this article from the government mouthpiece
Korean Central News Agency strikes a more conciliatory tone than
usual, it
gives no indication that Pyongyang intends to cancel a
rocket launch scheduled for next month.
Korean Central News
Agency, North Korea
U.S. President Has
‘Misperception’ About ‘Peaceful’ Satellite Launch
Is global
concern about North Korea’s upcoming launch of a rocket capable of carrying a
nuclear warhead just a great big misunderstanding? According to this
surprisingly conciliatory news item from the state-run Korean Central News
Agency, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry insists that the launch, which it
maintains is for peaceful purposes, was not part of the deal it signed with
Washington last month, and in any case has no military purpose.
Pyongyang: On Tuesday, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry gave
the following response to a question from the Korean Central News Agency
in regard to unjust assertions by the U.S. president about the planned
satellite launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [DPRK]:
The chief executive of the United States called the DPRK's planned launch of a satellite in the pursuit of peaceful
scientific and technological development a provocation and threat to
international peace and security. This is a misperception on his part.
The United States may claim that it harbors no hostility toward
the DPRK, but it has yet to alter its inveterate notion
of confrontation. That is the reason it regards a peaceful satellite launch as
a test of a long-range missile.
The DPRK invited foreign experts
and journalists to observe the satellite launch for themselves, so as to
transparently prove the peaceful nature of this scientific and technological operation,
and that it is to utilize space irrelevant to any military purpose. The Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea also invited experts from America’s National
Aeronautics and Space Administration in order for them to witness the peaceful nature
of the satellite launch for themselves.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United
States exerted great effort to sign an agreement to create a favorable
situation. That is why there would be no reason whatsoever for the DPRK to launch a long-range missile at this time.
It was the desire of [the late] General Secretary Kim Jong-il to launch a working satellite marking the 100th birthday
of his father, President Kim Il-sung. It is a project that was planned long
ago.
At the high-level talks, the DPRK
consistently maintained that a moratorium on long-range missile launches does
not include peaceful satellite launches. As a result, the agreement signed by
the two countries on February 29 specified a moratorium on long-range missile
launches, not "satellite launches" or "all launches that utilize
ballistic missile technology."
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will not give up its
peaceful satellite launch, which is a legitimate right of all sovereign states
and an essential requirement for economic development.
The U.S. chief executive says that he has no hostility
toward the DPRK. If he was sincere, he would drop America’s
confrontational notion of standing in the way of the DPRK,
and belatedly acknowledge its right
to launch satellites.
Posted by Worldmeets.US
Whether or not the U.S. applies double standards to the satellite
launch will determine the sincerity of the U.S. chief executive's remarks.
