JAL, ANA to reroute flights during North Korea rocket launch window

A United Nations spokesperson said Tuesday that three United Nations organizations have been informed by the DPRK of its plans to launch an Earth-observation satellite between February 8 and 25.

South Korea on Wednesday warned a harsh price against North Korea’s long-range ballistic missile launch after Pyongyang’s notification of its plan to launch a satellite.

The spokesman said South Korea will intercept any North Korean missile and debris if it falls in South Korea’s land, sea or air territory.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that, if North Korea insists on launching a satellite, China can not stop it, leading to speculation about the objective of this remark.

The developments on Thursday came a day after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Pyongyang “to refrain from using ballistic missile technology”. “During the stalemate of the six-party talks, in response to a relevant country’s constant outcry for pressure and sanctions, the DPRK started nuclear tests and conducted them over and over again”.

U.S. criticized and described Pyongyang’s plan as a “irresponsible provocation”.

The president noted that the only way to stop the DPRK’s misjudgment is to tighten United Nations sanctions and make the DPRK recognize that it can not survive unless the country gives up its nuclear program.

“This latest announcement further underscores the need for the worldwide community to send the North Koreans a swift, firm message that its disregard – that their disregard for U.N. Security Council obligations will not be tolerated”, Kirby said.

Chinese cooperation is key to putting together and implementing any meaningful sanctions resolution, as it is one of the five veto-holding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and the main provider of food and fuel for the impoverished North.

Map showing North Korea’s rocket plan, as registered with the International Maritime Organisation.

In South Korea and Japan, there are fears about falling debris, although nothing landed in their territories during the North’s most recent launches.

These balloons, apart from used toilet paper, also contain cigarette butts and propaganda leaflets denouncing the US and South Korean leader Park Geun-hye, calling her “political filth”, according to this report in Korea JoongAng Daily. This means there is considerable debate about whether it can produce nuclear bombs small enough to place on a missile, or missiles that can reliably deliver their bombs to faraway targets.