DPRK urged to halt rocket plan

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Russia urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Monday to rethink its plan to launch a rocket later this month, as the Republic of Korea said Pyongyang has installed the first stage of the rocket.

Pyongyang had been warned not to ignore a United Nations Security Council resolution, which "unambiguously prohibits (it) from launching rockets using ballistic technology", said the statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The DPRK announced on Saturday the decision to launch another satellite and reportedly told neighbors it would take a similar path to the failed rocket launch in April.

Pyongyang insisted it will fully comply with relevant international regulations, but Washington said the planned launch, similar to the attempt earlier their year, is a disguised test for long-range missile technology designed to strike the US.

The DPRK said it gave the US direct notification of its plan to fire a long-range rocket last week, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The DPRK has installed the first stage of the rocket onto the launch pad, which means it is starting process of launching a long-range missile, an ROK government source said on condition of anonymity.

The launch has triggered serious concerns from its neighbors. China urged "all sides" not to take any action that "worsens the problem".

Meanwhile, the ROK and Japan prepared to take countermeasures against the launch.

ROK Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said the military is closely watching all activities with regard to DPRK's long-range rocket while firmly maintaining military posture and joint alert status with the US military.

In Japan, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Monday called for close cooperation with the US, China, ROK and Russia.

Tokyo has begun deploying a surface-to-air missile defense system and is putting its armed forces on standby ahead of Pyongyang's launch, while Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that a naval vessel carrying Patriot Advanced Capability-3 ballistic missiles left a western Japan naval base on Monday.

Japanese officials are preparing to issue an advance order as soon as on Friday to shoot down the rocket if it looks set to fall on Japanese territory, after an emergency meeting chaired by Noda, Nikkei business daily reported.

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.