S Korea: North’s Satellite ’is in Orbit’, Working with US, Japan on ’Strong’ Sanctions

Local Editor

South Korea's defense ministry said the satellite sent into space Sunday by the North is now in orbit but it is not yet clear whether it is working.

However, the move was internationally condemned as North Korea is banned under UN sanctions from using any ballistic missile technology, as the US and its allies considered the launch as cover for Pyongyang's development of such technology that could be used to deliver a nuclear weapon across the Pacific Ocean.

Relatively, the UN vowed to impose further sanctions as punishment, and the S. Korean President Park Geun-hye spoke with US President Barack Obama and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Tuesday, agreeing to work for "strong and effective" UN sanctions against the North after its rocket launch.

Earlier on Monday, the US said the sanctions could include "a range of economic sanctions that would further isolate North Korea" and send a clear signal "that the resolve of the international community here is firm."

According to officials from the Pentagon, the US also said it will help South Korea deploy an advanced missile defense system as soon as possible.

The South's defense ministry said the launch indicated the North now has long-range missiles with a 12,000km range, the Yonhap news agency reports.

But it remains unclear whether it has developed the technology to make a missile re-enter the atmosphere, critical if it is to use the missile as weapon.

The North insists its space program is purely scientific in nature but the US, South Korea and even Pyongyang's ally China say the rocket launches are aimed at developing inter-continental ballistic missiles.

Also last month, North Korea carried out its fourth test of a nuclear bomb.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team