Regarding North Korea’s notification of a planned long-range missile launch, Cho Tae-yong, deputy chief of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, warned Pyongyang sternly on Feb. 3 that the international community would make it pay a painful price for this planned firing.
Cho Tae-yong, Deputy Chief of National Security, Cheong Wa Dae
It was confirmed on Feb. 2 that North Korea notified the International Maritime Organization and other international organizations that it would launch what it calls a "satellite," which is in fact a long-range missile.
Considering the ongoing discussions about issuing a U.N. Security Council resolution after its recent fourth nuclear weapons test, North Korea’s notification of a planned long-range missile firing is a frontal attack on the international community.
North Korea should clearly realize that any kind of launch using any ballistic missile technology would be an absolute violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions, and that it should immediately withdraw its launch plans.
We sternly warn that if the North sticks to its planned long-range missile launch, it would be a grave threat to not only peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, but also to people across the region and to the entire world, and that the international community will make Pyongyang pay an abysmal price for its flagrant violations.
The South Korean government will maintain a determined defense readiness against all kinds of provocations from North Korea, including long-range missile launches, all of which threaten the lives of its citizens and the security of the Republic of Korea.
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