PYONGYANG: North Korea has test fired a long-range rocket, which critics say is a test of banned missile technology.
North Korea state TV said that North Korea had successfully placed a satellite in orbit. It appears the rocket was fired from a base in the north-west and passed over Japan’s southern Okinawa islands.
The launch was condemned by Japan, South Korea and the US, who have requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later on Sunday.
In a statement, the North Korean National Aerospace Development Administration said earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong-4 entered orbit about 10 minutes after lift-off from the Sohae space centre in North Phyongan province.
Announcing the launch on state TV, the newsreader said it had been ordered by North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un and said the country planned to launch more satellites in the future.
The North insists its space programme is purely scientific in nature, but the US and South Korea said the rocket launches were aimed at developing an inter-continental ballistic missile capable of striking the US.
South Korean analysts had speculated that the North might carry out the launch ahead of 16 February, the birthday of the late North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il.
