PH Foreign Affairs official urges North Korea to drop rocket launch plan

An official from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has strongly urged North Korea to cancel its plan to launch a long-range rocket this month. 

At a press briefing on Monday, DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez called on the government of North Korea to defer its plan to launch its ballistic missile program that will most probably pass through the Philippines' aerial territory.

“We strongly urge North Korea not to proceed with its planned launch and abide by the U.N. security council resolutions, which call for the abandonment of its ballistic missile program...” Hernandez told reporters.

Hernandez was referring to Resolutions 1718 and 1874, which call for the abandonment of the reclusive state’s ballistic missile program “in a complete and irreversible manner”.

Resolution 1718, signed on October 14, 2006, imposes a series of economic and commercial sanctions on North Korea in the aftermath of its claimed nuclear test on October 9, 2006.

Resolution 1874, signed on June 12, 2009, imposes further economic and commercial sanctions on North Korea for conducting an underground missile test on May 25, 2009.

However, despite the the existence of such sanctions, the communist state still plans on pursuing the rocket launch that is scheduled between December 10 and 22.

According to Hernandez, seven days before the supposed rocket launch, North Korea has yet to inform the Philippines of the trajectory of the planned rocket launch.

Based on reports, the rocket will head toward the Philippines from North Korea's shared border with China.

Hernandez said neither the Philippine Embassy in Beijing, which has jurisdiction over the Philippine affairs in North Korea, nor the embassy in  Bangkok, Thailand have received advisory or notification from the communist state regarding the launch. 

When asked whether the Philippine government would demand a trajectory report from North Korea to ensure the exact route of the rocket, Hernandez said the DFA was "still waiting" for communication from the communist state. 

"We will wait until we receive the notification," Hernandez said.

Last April, North Korea aso attempted but failed to launch a long-range rocket. This is the second rocket launch attempt under the administration of Kim Jong Un, son of the late Korean leader Kim Jong Il, whose first death anniversary will be on December 17, 2012. It is widely believed that North Korea will launch the rocket to honor the first year of his death.

The country's Korean Committee for Space Technology said that it already "analyzed the mistakes" of the failed April attempt, which drew criticism from the international community, particularly the United States.

The latest attempt by North Korea will further challenge the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama and the new South Korean president who is slated to be elected later this month.

The Korean Peninsula remains in a state of war because the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended in a truce and not a peace treaty. Washington stations nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea as a buttress against any North Korean aggression.-Interaksyon (December 03, 2012 9:05PM)