Kim Jong Un Visits Pyongyang Central Zoo

Kim Jong Un looks at bear cubs during a tour of Pyongyang Central Zoo. Among those attendance, standing behind him are: Han Kwang Sang (L), Kim Yang Gon (2nd L) and Jon Il Chun (5th L) (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)

DPRK state media reported on 27 May (Sunday) that Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) visited the Pyongyang Central Zoo.  He was accompanied by National Defense Commission Vice Chairman and KWP Party Administration Department Director, Jang Song Taek, and KWP Secretary and Director of the United Front Department Kim Yang Gon, as well KWP Deputy (vice) Department Directors Han Kwang Sang, Ri Jae Il, Hwang Pyong So, Pak Chun Hong, Ma Wo’n-ch’un and Cho’n Il-ch’un.  KCNA reports:

Kim Jong Un first went round the monument erected to convey the undying leadership exploits of the three commanders of Mt. Paektu down through generations.

He recollected with deep emotion the glorious course covered by the zoo, noting that it had the honor of receiving on-the-spot guidance of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il dozens of times and has creditably fulfilled its mission as a place for joyful rest making visitors laugh and pleasing them and a center for education imbuing them with wide knowledge about animals over the last more than five decades since it was established.

Going round different places of the zoo, he learned in detail about the management and operation of it.

He dropped in at the aquarium to learn about its operation. He asked workers there if there is any problem arising in breeding fish, what measures are taken to provide food and water to it and what species of sea fish are raised.

He was satisfied to hear officials of the zoo say that thorough measures are taken to provide food and the completion of the Nampho-Pyongyang seawater pipe helped settle the issue of seawater, a difficulty in breeding sea water fishes.

He visited the pool for seals and the reptile house. What is important for sprucing up animal houses is to create friendly natural environment to help visitors see animals clearly and learn about their true habitation and provide them with sufficient living conditions, he said.

He went to the gift animal house to watch with keen attention rare animals including Indian constrictor, lemur and flying fox which Jonas Whalstram, director of Skansen Aquarium in Sweden, presented to leader Kim Jong Il.

He dropped in at a shed of wild animals. He met Kim Sun Ok, head of the wild animal work team who has worked at the zoo for 45 years, and Myong Su Il who has tended bears for nearly 30 years and appreciated their efforts.

He also moved to a veterinary hospital built on the initiative of Kim Jong Il. Kim Jong Un underlined the need to take efficient veterinary, anti-epizootic and treatment measures for animals.

He highly praised the officials and other employees of the zoo for having taken good care of animals and devoted their wisdom and efforts to pleasing visitors by successfully organizing their tour.

He put forth the tasks to be carried out to manage and operate the zoo.

It is necessary to spruce up the zoo and steadily improve its operation.

The zoo should increase the species of animals and bring more giraffes, zebras and other animals from foreign countries and more rare animals.

It is necessary to build a main building symbolic of the zoo at its entrance and modernize all animal sheds in line with the characteristic features of animals, while providing convenience to visitors.

The zoo should have peculiar outdoor and indoor resting places.

A work should be done to improve the greening of the zoo area as required by the new century.

It is necessary to take proper measures for supplying water needed for managing the zoo and tending the animals.

The zoo should set up a new guidepost to meet the need of the zoo.

Kim Jong Un expressed expectation and belief that the officials and other employees of the zoo would creditably fulfill their responsibility and mission as a servant of the people.

Workers’ Orgs to Hold Conferences in May and June

National headquarters of the Kim Il Sung Youth League (L) and the Korea Democratic Women’s Union (R) in Pyongyang (Photo: Google image)

DPRK state media reported on 4 May (Friday) that the four major Workers’ Organizations will hold membership conferences “from late May to early June.”  KCNA reports:

Conferences of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, the Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea and the Democratic Women’s Union of Korea are to be held here from late May to early June.

Discussed there will be the tasks of the working people’s organisations to hold in high esteem President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il as eternal leaders of the Party and revolution, carry through the decision of the Fourth Conference of the Workers’ Party of Korea and build a thriving socialist nation under the guidance of the dear respected Kim Jong Un.

It is not clear if the Workers’ Organizations’ conferences are linked to another large gathering in Pyongyang connected to boosting the country’s food supply.  Good Friends reported on its website on 2 May (Wednesday) that “the new leadership decided to hold a homeland meeting in Pyongyang early in May with the intent of preparing measures to resolve the problem of food shortages.  Three to four functionaries of related fields from each county, and even larger numbers from each city are continuing to gather in Pyongyang. . .the scale is second only to the party representatives’ conference held on 11 April.”  Good Friends also reported that Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n), “personally ordered the meeting to be held, saying that good methods of food production should be sought fundamentally.”

AFP reports:

North Korean officials from across the country will meet in Pyongyang this month to discuss ways to boost agriculture in the food-scarce nation, a Seoul aid group said on Thursday.

The ‘Homeland Conference’ will focus on ways to expand farmland in the mountainous nation by cultivating rugged areas and inactive land, Good Friends said on its website.

The meeting will draw hundreds of people including central and local government officials, ruling communist party officials and other state agencies, making it as large as a party meeting last month, the aid group said.

Seoul’s unification ministry could not immediately confirm the reported meeting, for which the aid group gave no date.

The North suffered a famine which killed hundreds of thousands in the 1990s and severe food shortages continue. UN agencies said last November that three million people would need food aid this year and child malnutrition was rising.

Good Friends said the Pyongyang meeting would also consider a chronic workforce shortage in agriculture.

Many collectivised farms suffer high rates of absenteeism as farmers roam in search of roots and wild greens to compensate for grain shortages, it said.

Kim Jong Un Attends Commemorative Photo Sessions

Kim Jong Un poses during a photo op with participants of the 4th Korean Workers' Party Conference and representatives to the centenary celebrations of Kim Il Sung's birth. (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

DPRK state media reported Tuesday (17 April) that Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) attended three commemorative photo sessions in Pyongyang.  The first photo session occurred at the Ku’msusan Memorial Palace (Ku’msusan Palace of the Sun) where KJU and other members of the central leadership had their pictures taken with participants of the 4th Party Conference and various revelers from KIS’ 100th birthday.   KCNA reports:

Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea [WPK], first chairman of the National Defence Commission [NDC] of the DPRK, and supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army [KPA], had a photo session with the service personnel of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.

Present there were senior party, state and army officials Choe Ryong Hae, Ri Yong Ho, Kim Jong Gak, Jang Song Thaek, Hyon Chol Hae, and Kim Won Hong.

Kim Jong Un warmly congratulated the service personnel who have displayed intense loyalty in the work to preserve with best care and manage the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun as an eternal holy site of the sun before having a photo session with them.

He expressed expectation and conviction that the service personnel would as ever creditably discharge their honorable mission and duty in the struggle for holding President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il in high esteem for all ages and glorify the glorious revolutionary history of the peerlessly great men and their immortal exploits.

Kim Jong Un (seated, 3rd R) attends a photo op with the KPA personnel involved in the construction of the recently completed People's Theater in Pyongyang (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

KJU’s second photo op was with the Korean People’s Army [KPA] construction brigades, architects and designers who worked on the People’s Theater.  KCNA reports:

Present at the photo session were Choe Ryong Hae, Jang Song Thaek, and Kim Won Hong.

Kim Jong Un warmly congratulated them on their proud labor feats performed in the building of the theatre by fully displaying the revolutionary soldier spirit before having a picture taken with them.

He repeatedly appreciated their shining feats, saying that the above-said soldier-builders and designers successfully built many monumental edifices in the past, thus powerfully demonstrating the might of juche Korea before the whole world and making a great contribution to the prosperity of the country.

He expressed great satisfaction over the fact that they successfully completed the theatre in a matter of less than a year and creditably implemented the behest of leader Kim Jong Il, noting that he conceived the plan for its construction more than 10 years back and paid special attention to its project in the last period of his life to make sure that it was built as a gift of loyalty to the 100th birth anniversary of President Kim Il Sung and provided to the people.

He expressed expectation and belief that they would fully display patriotic devotion and popular heroism in the socialist construction in the future, too, and thus make a positive contribution to the cause of building a thriving nation.

Kim Jong Un (seated 8th R) attends a commemorative photo session with the personnel of the Ku'msusan Memorial Palace (also called the Ku'msusan Palace of the Sun) (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Finally, Kim Jong Un had his photo taken with the staff and KPA soldiers who work at Ku’msusan.  These personnel are subordinate to the Office of Military Officers, which historically resided in the Personal Secretariat, but is probably now subordinate to the Guard Command.  This photo op was KJU’s most recent reported public appearance.  KCNA reports:

Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, and supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army, had a photo session with the service personnel of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.

Present there were senior party, state and army officials Choe Ryong Hae, Ri Yong Ho, Kim Jong Gak, Jang Song Thaek, Hyon Chol Hae, and Kim Won Hong.

Kim Jong Un warmly congratulated the service personnel who have displayed intense loyalty in the work to preserve with best care and manage the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun as an eternal holy site of the sun before having a photo session with them.

He expressed expectation and conviction that the service personnel would as ever creditably discharge their honorable mission and duty in the struggle for holding President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il in high esteem for all ages and glorify the glorious revolutionary history of the peerlessly great men and their immortal exploits.

Rocket on Launch Pad

Officials of the Korea Committee for Space Technology [KCST] have placed the U’nha-3 carrier rocket on its launch pad at the Sohae Launch Facility in Tongch’ang-ri, Ch’o'lsan County, North P’yo’ngan Province.  U’nha-3 was unveiled to visiting foreign media, along with what was said to be the Kwangmyo’ngso’ng-3 satellite [KMS-3].  Xinhua reports:

The rocket for Pyongyang’s planned satellite launch later this month has been installed on the launch pad, Xinhua correspondents saw at the launch site Sunday.

A official said at the scene that the Unha-3 rocket, which is slated to blast off during the April 12-16 window and send an “earth observation” satellite into space, is yet to be fuelled.

Xinhua was among the foreign media invited to visit the launching station, control and command center and some other places.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced last month its plan to launch the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite to mark the 100th birthday of late leader Kim Il Sung, which has triggered global concerns.

Daily Yomiuri reports:

The injection of liquid fuel will start after the second- and third-stage units are assembled, the sources said.

Despite strong opposition by Japan, the United States, South Korea and other countries to the plan, the latest development shows North Korea has entered the final stage of preparations for the launch.

The setting up of the first-stage booster was confirmed by analysis of data from a U.S. reconnaissance satellite.

According to the sources, the first-stage booster was assembled vertically on the launchpad, which is about 50 meters high, at the new missile base in Tongchang-ri completed last year.

U.S. and South Korean authorities believe the second- and third-stage units will be set up by early this week, followed by the injection of liquid fuel from an underground facility.

The liquid fuel used by North Korea is said to be highly corrosive, making it difficult to store in a fuel tank for a long time after its injection, according to military experts. For this reason, the fuel will be injected a few days before the launch.

“No delays have been seen thus far, from the transportation of the missile body to the base to its assembly. We believe the launch will be carried out as announced,” a source said.

North Korea announced it will launch the rocket in the period from April 12 to 16.

Starting Wednesday, North Korea is scheduled to hold a series of political events, including a representatives’ meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea. During this meeting, the North’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, is expected to assume the hermetic country’s highest posts, such as the general secretary of the party.

Another diplomatic source said North Korea will “fire the missile by April 15, [to celebrate the] 100th [anniversary of the] birthday of late President Kim Il Sung…and the completion of the power succession.”

Meanwhile, the launch of the U’nha-3 and Kwangmyo’ngso’ng-3 satellite may not be the only test carried out by the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) Central Committee’s Machine-Building Industry Department and its subordinate organizations, the Second Economy Commission and Second Natural Sciences Academy.  South Korean officials say that ongoing excavation and construction activities near P’unggye-ri, Kilchu County, North Hamgyo’ng Province suggest the DPRK may conduct a third underground nuclear detonation, likely HEU.  Yonhap reports:

Satellite images show the communist nation digging a new tunnel underground in the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the country’s northeast, where it conducted two previous nuclear tests, first in 2006 and then in 2009.

The construction is believed to be in its final stage, the official said.

“North Korea is making clandestine preparations for a third nuclear test at Punggye-ri in North Hamkyong Province, where it conducted two nuclear tests in the past,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Commercial satellite imagery showed piles of earth and sand at the entrance of a tunnel in the Punggye-ri site. The soil is believed to have been brought to the site to plug the tunnel, one of final steps before carrying out a nuclear test blast.

A nuclear test following a long-range missile test fits the pattern of North Korean behavior.

In 2006, the provocative regime carried out its first-ever nuclear test, three months after the test-firing of its long-range Taepodong-2 rocket. The second nuclear test in 2009 came just one month after a long-range rocket launch.

The North says it will fire off its Unha-3 long-range rocket between April 12-16 to put what it claims is a satellite into orbit. But regional powers believe the launch is a pretext to disguise a ballistic missile test banned under a U.N. Security Council resolution.

Sources said the North is believed to have put the rocket on a launch pad in the country’s northwest on Friday.

The North’s nuclear and missile programs have long been a regional security concern. The country is believed to have advanced ballistic missile technology, though it is still not clear whether it has mastered the technology to put a nuclear warhead on a missile.

Unha-3 Rocket in Place?

Technicians and other personnel of the Korea Committee for Space Technology and the Korean People’s Army [KPA] continue to finalize preparations for the launch of the U’nha-3 carrier rocket and Kwangmyo’ngso’ng-3 [KMS-3] satellite.  38 North reports:

Commercial satellite photographs taken on April 4 reveal the gantry’s work platform is now covered and closed around the mobile launch stand, indicating work is being conducted inside, but also making it impossible to determine whether the Unha-3 or any part of it is erected on the pad. Moreover, the platform is enclosed by canvas to protect it from weather but also to further ensure that activity inside is not visible. (Previous satellite imagery dating back to March 28 showed the platform open and no stages present.)

There are some indicators to suggest, however, that at least the first stage may be stacked in the gantry and the launch date is growing closer. First, the fueling activity observed for the past week seems to have been completed. Most of the empty fuel and oxidizer tanks appear to have been removed from the buildings that supply the first stage, indicating an end to the delivery of propellants.

Second, the North Koreans appear to have erected a barricade or security checkpoint for vehicles entering from the west, the only road to the pad from other main facilities at the range. This barrier or checkpoint, not present in March 28 satellite photos, indicates heightened security at the pad—something present.

Third, the launch pad itself has been cleaned up and objects seen near the gantry previously have been removed. The scraping of the area adjacent to the south side of the pad down to dirt has also been completed and the brush cut up to the fuel buildings to reduce the chance of a fire reaching them. It also appears that a layer of dirt has been spread into the concrete flame trench probably to reduce erosion by the rockets exhaust gases.

KBS World in Seoul reports that the launch is expected to occur on or around 14 April (Saturday):

A source related to North Korean affairs has said Pyongyang is likely to launch its long-range missile on April 14th and not April 12th, as was expected earlier.

The source said North Korea has invited reporters from foreign media to the launch event, telling them to enter Pyongyang on April 12th.

The source said considering the state of North Korean roadways, it will take at least a day to move from Pyongyang to the launch pad in Dongchang-ri in Northern Pyongan Province, and the invited reporters will likely observe the launch on the morning of the 14th.

Other North Korean experts also said it was highly likely the North would fire its rocket that day to commemorate the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il-Sung.

Japan’s Nippon Television Network said on Friday that North Korea has attached the first part of the Gwangmyongsong-3 rocket onto the launch pad.

South Korean military sources have said North Korea will probably start fueling its rocket on Sunday.

Foster Klug writes for the Associated Press:

The North Korean launch is meant as a showcase of national power and technology during celebrations of one of the country’s most important days — the centennial of the April 15 birth of national founder Kim Il Sung. North Korea says the rocket will carry a satellite into orbit to study crops and natural resources.

Washington and others call the launch a cover to test missile systems that could target parts of the United States. While North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests, analysts don’t believe it has yet mastered the technology needed to shrink a nuclear weapon and mount it onto a missile.

Launch preparation can also be seen in separate GeoEye satellite images from Saturday reviewed by Allison Puccioni, image analyst at IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly. The images show vehicles on the launch pad, nearby fuel and oxidizer containers and a crane above the launch tower that’s been placed “directly over the mobile launch platform, the position necessary to erect the rocket.”

Cloudy skies from Sunday through Tuesday obscured the launch site, but the U.S.-Korea Institute’s analysis says that if Pyongyang is following a timeline similar to 2006 and 2009 launches, workers should have put the rocket’s first stage on the launch stand Sunday or Monday, with the second and third stages coming during the next two days.

Image: Asahi Shimbun

Nanae Kurashige, Takashi Oshima and Akihiko Kaise reported for Asahi Japan Watch :

South Korea says Japan has overreacted, and the United States seems to be more concerned with what the missile can do, rather than what might happen if it malfunctions.

On April 6, Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka visited the Air Defense Command headquarters, located in the compound of U.S. Yokota Air Base in Fussa, western Tokyo. The ADC is under the jurisdiction of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.

There, he met with ADC Commander Harukazu Saito and U.S. Forces Japan Commander Burton Field, and expressed his hope that Japan and the United States would work closely to deal with the problem.

The ADC headquarters was transferred to the Yokota base in late March to facilitate coordination with the United States.

The office will analyze intelligence gathered by U.S. forces and Japan’s SDF, and command operations to intercept the North Korean missile if there is any chance of it landing on Japanese territory or its waters.

“I was reassured by Commander Field that U.S. forces will share information with Japan,” Tanaka told reporters after his visit.

On April 3, Tanaka spoke by telephone with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, during which they both agreed that Japan and the United States would work together to deal with the threat.

However, a Japanese Defense Ministry official said Washington’s sense of crisis is more subdued than in 2009 when Pyongyang launched a long-range ballistic missile in the direction of the U.S. mainland.

This time, however, the missile will take a southern trajectory.

In both cases, North Korea asserted it was launching a satellite.

“The country that is feeling the biggest threat is Japan,” said an executive of the Japanese Defense Ministry.

Japan is deploying Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) surface-to-air guided missiles in three locations in the Tokyo metropolitan area and four locations in Okinawa Prefecture.

But there appears to be little chance of missile debris, or the missile itself, falling on the Tokyo metropolitan area, a Defense Ministry official said.

The United States has yet to disclose full details of its own measures to deal with the missile launch.

On April 5, U.S. Defense Department spokesman George Little told reporters that the United States is monitoring North Korean moves and is ready to track the missile if it is launched.

The United States is deploying Aegis destroyers equipped with missile defense capabilities. Reconnaissance aircraft will also take to the air.

CNN reported that sea-based X-band radar equipment, which is used to detect incoming missiles, left a U.S. Navy base in Hawaii in late March bound for the Japan-Korea region.

Washington is particularly interested in the range and capability of the North Korean missile.

In a congressional hearing held in late March, U.S. Forces Korea Commander James Thurman was asked if North Korea had the ability in the near future to fire a ballistic missile that could reach the continental United States.

Thurman said North Korea, at its current pace of development, would soon be able to build a missile that poses a serious threat to the United States.

Meanwhile, DPRK state media reports that 30-odd news reporters and journalists have begun arriving to observe the U’nha-3/KMS-3 launch.  Xinhua reports:

Some 30 foreign reporters from around the world are in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) capital to cover the country’s satellite launch, the official news agency KCNA reported Saturday.

According to the report, a total of 21 foreign media, including major world wire services and television broadcasters such as the AP, CNN and NBC of the United States, Channel One (the First Channel TV) of Russia, Kyodo News Agency and NHK of Japan, AFP of France, and Reuters and BBC of Britain, have sent reporters to Pyongyang.

Also on Saturday, Pyongyang bureaus of Xinhua and other foreign media received an invitation to attend authorities-organized activities relating to the launch on Sunday, but no further details were revealed.

The DPRK announced on March 16 it would launch the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite between April 12 and 16 to mark the 100th birthday of late leader Kim Il-Sung.

The “earth observation” satellite, to be carried by a long-range Unha-3 rocket, will be launched south of Cholsan County, North Phyongan Province, the KCNA reported.

On March 17, the Korean Committee for Space Technology (KCST) extended invitations for foreign experts and journalists to visit the “Sohae” Satellite Launching Station, the General Satellite Control and Command Center and other places and observe the launch.

DPRK Foreign Ministry Issues Statement on Suspension of US Aid

DPRK Foreign Ministry (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) (Photo: Google image)

The DPRK’s Foreign Ministry described the suspension of nutritional assistance by the United States as an “overreaction” to the planned mid-April launch of U’nha-3 with the Kwangmyo’ngso’ng-3 satellite  The Foreign Ministry’s spokesman also said that the US “would not send its experts and also forced other countries not to send one,” a reference to the DPRK’s invitation to “experienced experts” to observe the U’nha-3 launch.  KCNA reports:

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK gave the following answer to a question raised by KCNA Saturday as regards the U.S. moves to exploit the DPRK’s planned launch of satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 for meeting its sinister political and military purposes:

The U.S. overreaction to the DPRK’s plan to launch scientific and technological satellite for peaceful purposes has gone beyond the limit.

The U.S. has so far insisted that it does not relate humanitarian issue with the political issue. But it responded to the DPRK’s planned satellite launch with the announcement to stop following through on its commitment to food aid. This would be a regrettable act of scrapping the DPRK-U.S. agreement in its entirety as it is a violation of the core articles of the February 29 DPRK-U.S. agreement.

The DPRK extended invitation to satellite experts to visit the launching station to show the sincerity of the DPRK as regards the peaceful satellite launch in a transparent manner. But the U.S. clarified that it would not send its experts and also forced other countries not to send one.

This stands in sharp contrast to its previous insistence that the DPRK should accept inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure the transparency of its nuclear activities.

What the U.S. fears is the objective confirmation of the peaceful nature of the DPRK’s satellite launch.

It has its own political and military objective in describing the DPRK’s satellite launch as a long-range missile launch.

By describing the DPRK’s “long-range missile capabilities” as a “threat to the U.S. mainland”, the U.S. seeks to justify its missile defense system, which is opposed by all the countries in Northeast Asia, and use it as a pretext for pressing forward the MD.

The path chosen by the U.S. would harass peace and stability in Northeast Asia including the Korean Peninsula and spark off fresh cold war.

The DPRK has not yet reached such a point as to discuss the severity and gravity of the consequences to be entailed by the U.S. wrong option.

It just hopes that the U.S. would courageously accept peaceful satellite launch by a sovereign state, though belatedly, and prove in practice its words that it has no hostility toward the DPRK.

Kyodo reports:

North Korea warned the United States on Saturday that suspending food aid to the country under a bilateral food-for-nuclear deal would amount to scrapping the agreement “in its entirety.”

The deal, struck in Beijing and announced Feb. 29, commits North Korea to implement moratoriums on nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and uranium enrichment activities in exchange for 240,000 tons of U.S. food aid.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry sounded the warning in criticizing the United States for signaling the suspension of planned food aid if Pyongyang goes ahead with the launch of a “satellite” in mid-April that Washington says violates a 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution.

The United States “responded to the DPRK’s planned satellite launch with the announcement to stop following through on its commitment to food aid. This would be a regrettable act of scrapping the DPRK-U.S. agreement in its entirety as it is a violation of the core articles of the February 29 DPRK-U.S. agreement,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency.

DPRK is the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

North Korea says it plans to launch an “earth observation satellite” between April 12 and 16, prompting condemnation from Washington and other countries.

Critics say the planned satellite launch by a carrier rocket is a covert test of a long-range ballistic missile in defiance of the U.N. resolution, which bans North Korea from using ballistic missile technology.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said the United States rejected an invitation from North Korea to send satellite experts to the launch site to ensure transparency in the planned launch.

“The U.S. clarified that it would not send its experts and also forced other countries not to send one,” the spokesman was quoted as saying. “What the U.S. fears is the objective confirmation of the peaceful nature of the DPRK’s satellite launch.”

The spokesman urged Washington to “courageously accept a peaceful satellite launch by a sovereign state, though belatedly, and prove in practice its words that it has no hostility toward the DPRK.”

North Korea says the satellite launch, timed to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of state founder Kim Il Sung, is needed for the country’s economic development.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry said last week that preparations for the satellite launch have entered a “full-fledged stage of action.”

Gas Up the KMS-3

Commemorative postage stamp of the Kwangmyo'ngso'ng-2/U'nha-2 launch in April 2009 (Photo: KCNA)

Technicians from the Korea Committee for Space Technology [KCST] continue preparations for the launch of the U’nha-3 carrier rocket which will reportedly carry payload, Kwangmyo’ngso’ng-3 [KMS-3] satellite.  38 North provides a detailed image analysis of the ongoing activities at Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongch’ang-ri, North P’yo’ngan Province:

Launch pad preparation seems to be progressing on schedule with fuel and oxidizer being delivered to the storage buildings for the Unha-3’s first stage. The next step will be the movement of the first stage to the pad—probably on March 30 or 31—followed by the second stage a day or two later. The third stage and payload will follow probably by April 2 or 3. Several other major events will take place after the Unha-3 is completely assembled. Unless some major setback occurs, the North Koreans will be able to launch during the declared launch window starting April 12, 2012.

Complementing the piece, image analysis expert Nick Hansen produced a timeline on U’nha-3′s launch preparations and the DPRK’s previous rocket (ICBM) launches:

It is no secret that North Korea plans to launch a satellite in a window between April 12-16, 2012 to coincide with the 100th birthday of Kim Il Sung, the founder of the country. It also plans to use an Unha-3 booster rocket launched from a new space port (Sohae Satellite Launching Station, a.k.a. Tongchang-dong Space Launch Center). The real secret is how North Korea plans to accomplish this task in the nearly three weeks left before the announced launch window. To provide some context on a probable timeline, this article briefly discusses the observed activities leading up to the Unha launch on July 4, 2006 and the Unha-2 launch on April 5, 2009, both from its old Tonghae Test Center.

Commercial imagery and open source reporting has shown that the launch campaigns of both 2006 and 2009 from Tonghae took about 2.25 months. Therefore, if the North Koreans are following anything like their previous schedule, the new campaign should be well underway. Imagery as of March 29, 2012, indicates that preparations have indeed begun. If a launch is really planned, it can be assumed that the Unha-3 and the satellite Kwangmyongsong-3, identified as an earth resources mission, will soon be inside the assembly building.

AFP reports:

North Korea has begun fuelling a rocket for a launch that the West considers a missile test, a Japanese newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a source “close to the government” in Pyongyang.

“The launch is coming closer. The possibility is high that the launch date will be set for April 12 or 13,” the source said according to the Tokyo Shimbun in a report from Seoul.

It cited the source as saying that North Korea had begun injecting liquid fuel into the rocket.

The paper also said a diplomatic source had confirmed that North Korea has moved the rocket to a launch pad in Tongchang-ri in the country’s far northwest.

The report came after North Korea insisted Tuesday it would go ahead with what it says is a satellite launch, snubbing a call from US President Barack Obama to drop the plan and accusing him of a “confrontational mindset”.

DPRK media interviewed a deputy (vice) director of the KCST’s Space Development Department who provided a general explanation about the satellite, its equipment and the official motivation for the launch.  KCNA reports:

There were questions about the data of the working satellite to be launched on the occasion of the significant Day of the Sun and the visits by foreign experts and reporters.

Question: What is the mission of Kwangmyongsong-3, first working satellite in the DPRK?

Answer: Kwangmyongsong-3 as an earth observation satellite will assess the distribution of forests and natural resources of the DPRK, the level of natural disaster, the crop estimate, etc. and collect data necessary for weather forecast, natural resources prospecting and others.

Q: What is its capacity?

A: Kwangmyongsong-3 has video camera mounted on it and will send observation data including pictures to the General Satellite Control and Command Centre.

It weighs 100kg and will circle along the solar synchronous orbit at 500km high altitude. Its life is two years.

Q: The DPRK invited foreign experts and reporters to the satellite launch. What can they observe?

A: They will go to the Sohae Satellite Launching Station to witness carrier rocket Unha-3 on the launching pad and Kwangmyongsong-3. They will watch the preparation for the launch of the carrier rocket with satellite on it in the General Launch Command Centre. They will also visit the General Satellite Control and Command Centre in Pyongyang and see the satellite being launched in a relevant place.

We will organize special visits going beyond the international usage to show with transparency the peaceful, scientific and technological nature of the satellite.

The U’nha-3 is not the only missile being tested on the DPRK’s west coast this spring.  South Korean media reported that on Thursday (29 March) that two KN-01 anti-ship missiles were tested.  KBS World reports:

The official said Friday that the North launched two KN-01 surface-to-ship missiles with a range of 120 kilometers from North Pyongan Province.

The official said the missile tests are not considered to be related to the North’s plan to launch a long-range rocket next month and were apparently carried out to test the missiles’ capacities. However, the official added the tests could be interpreted as the North’s protest over the recent expansion of South Korean and U.S. war vessels deployed in the Yellow Sea.

North Korea test-fired three KN-02 surface-to-surface missiles in the East Sea earlier in January and test-fired two short-range missiles off its eastern coast on December 19th last year, the day Kim Jong-il’s death was announced.

Japan’s Self Defense Forces [SDF] have been ordered to shoot down any parts of the U’nha-3 which might impact Japanese territory.  Japan will also deploy surface-to-air missiles [SAM] as the launch approaches.  Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was the only  international leader to explicitly remark on the U’nha/KMS-3 launch during the proceedings of the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul earlier this week.

Asahi Japan Watch reports:

Pyongyang says it is planning to launch an Earth observation satellite between April 12 and 16, prompting Japan to mobilize its forces ahead of the launch. It is strongly suspected that the launch is nothing but a ruse to test a long-range ballistic missile.

On March 28, an RC-135U reconnaissance plane, designed to collect electronic intelligence, arrived at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture.

Surface-to-air Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles have already been deployed at Kadena on a permanent basis, and the Air SDF is continuing with preparations for the deployment of PAC-3 missiles in other locations around Japan. Actual deployment was to get under way from March 30.

The Maritime SDF will also deploy three Aegis-class destroyers to waters off Okinawa and in the Sea of Japan to track the rocket/missile.

The PAC-3 missiles will be deployed in three locations in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area as well as four locations in Okinawa, including the Miyakojima and Ishigakijima islands. The missiles are expected to be transported by sea from SDF bases in Tsu and Takashima, Shiga Prefecture, via Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture.

Because the North Korean missile is only expected to traverse the islands of Okinawa, there is thought to be a very low chance of any parts of it falling on Japanese territory.

Aegis-class destroyers successfully shot down ballistic missiles in three out of four tests by the MSDF. Two tests of PAC-3 missiles have also been successful.

Hideaki Kaneda, a former senior MSDF officer who is a director at the Okazaki Institute, said: “Japan has the ability to make an appropiate response against missiles similar in type to the Rodong (of North Korea).”

However, the PAC-3 missile only has a range of several dozens of kilometers for intercepting ballistic missiles. If the North Korean ballistic missile approaches Japanese airspace, it would likely herald some sort of malfunction.

Military analyst Kazuhisa Ogawa said: “If the missile starts to drop out of the sky due to a malfunction, its flight route would become unstable because of air resistance. That would make it much harder to shoot it down (with an interceptor missile).”

Another military commentator, Isaku Okabe, admitted the difficulty of shooting down a missile that had gone off course, but he said: “The route is over a large area of water, so there is a small chance that the missile will fall on land.”

Yanggang (Ryanggang) Provincial Party Secretary Kim Hui Taek (L)

Meanwhile, Daily NK citing sources in Yanggang Province, reports that Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA] deputies have been ordered to arrive in Pyongyang on or around 5 April, eight (8) days prior to the convocation of the 5th session (plenum; plenary meeting) of the 12th SPA on 13 April.  It is speculated in the article that the 4th Party Conference (Meeting of Party Representatives) might occur prior to the SPA, due to overlapping (dual) membership.  Given the scheduling of the SPA session and the projected dates of the U’nha-3 launch, the DPRK central leadership may be looking for a propulsive pretext to convene the party conference.

The unusually long eight day lead-in time appears to suggest that the 4th Chosun Workers’ Party Delegates’ Conference is going to occur sometime between the 5th and 12th, to be followed by the SPA on the 13th in order to allow all political formalities to be completed before the regime turns its attention to celebrating the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth on the 15th.

The exact schedule is a guessing game because although the Politburo revealed official plans to hold the 4th Delegates’ Conference “in mid-April” on February 20th, a precise date has still not been officially released.

A source from Hyesan in Yangkang Province revealed news of the order to assemble in conversation with Daily NK today, adding that “Nine people will depart from Hyesan by train on April 1st as SPA delegates, including Provincial Party Chief Secretary Kim Hi Taek, the principal of Kim Jong Suk College of Education and the low-level Party secretary from Hyesan Textile Factory.”

According to the source, “There has been no order handed down about the Delegates’ Conference, but since they have told delegates to assemble early for the SPA, the word on the street is that the Delegates’ Conference will come first.”

Many of the ‘lawmakers’ in the rubberstamp SPA are also likely to be Party delegates as well, meaning that holding the two events in very quick succession is logistically beneficial.

Delegates will travel on special trains laid on to transport people and freight on the behalf of the state. In the case of delegates from Hyesan, the train will depart from the border city before stopping at Kilju in North Hamkyung Province and passing through Kim Chaek, Simpo and Hamheung before stopping at Suncheon and Pyongsung in South Pyongan Province en route to the capital. If all goes according to plan, the journey should take 22 hours, though the April 1st departure date is a clear reflection of how power limitations can affect travel in rural North Korea.

In the meantime, Chosun Central News Agency and Rodong Shinmun have both been reporting on local conferences held to ‘elect’ delegates to the 4th Delegates’ Conference, though these are not competitive elections. So far, Kim Jong Eun has been officially adopted as a delegate by the Chosun People’s Army and the Party in South Pyongan Province and the capital, Pyongyang.

If the Supreme People’s Assembly does occur after the 4th Delegates’ Conference, Kim Jong Eun will first formally take power in the Party and then in the administrative sector, presumably becoming Chosun Workers’ Party chief secretary and chairman of the Central Military Committee before then becoming head of state.

Memorial Rally Ends KJI Mourning Period

Kim Jong Un (2nd L) attends a 25 March national memorial rally in Pyongyang ending the country's 100-day mourning period for deceased supreme leader Kim Jong Il. Seen with him are Chief of the KPA General Staff VMar Ri Yong Ho (L), SPA Presidium President Kim Yong Nam (3rd L), his aunt and member of the Political Bureau Kim Kyong Hui (2nd R) and Political Bureau member Jon Pyong Ho (R) (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

People attend the memorial service to mark the 100th day since the death of Kim Jong Il, late top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on March 25, 2012. (Xinhua/Zhang Li)

DPRK state media reported on Sunday (25 March) that the 100-day mourning period for Kim Jong Il ended.  The country’s central leadership marked the occasion with two events.  Early on Sunday, Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) led a group of DPRK elites in paying their respects at Ku’msusan Memorial Palace where his grandfather, country founder and late DPRK President Kim Il Sung lies in state and where KJI will eventually lie in repose.  Later the same day, KJU and other DPRK leaders attended a national memorial rally for KJI as Kim Il Sung Square.

ITAR-TASS reports:

North Korean premier Choe Yong Rim, speaking on Sunday at a mass rally in the capital’s central square on the occasion of the 100 days since the death of the head of state, pointed to great services of Kim Jong-Il to the Korean nation.

He noted that the deceased leader turned North Korea “into a militarily strong country”, made an important contribution to the cause of reunification of the two parts of the Korean Peninsula. Besides, the premier continued, “Kim Jong-Il brilliantly settled the question on continuity of power”.

Choe also pointed to important measures, taken by the leader’s young son Kim Jong-Un, to immortalize the memory of his father. For instance, at the initiative of the new North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il was awarded the title of generalissimo, and the Kumsusan Memorial Palace was renamed into the “Palace of Sun”.

In this connection, the prime minister called for standing closer behind Kim Jong-Un whose leadership “will be a guarantee for successful implementation of the DPRK’s revolutionary course”.

Then, the rally was addressed by Minister of People’s Armed Forces and Vice-Marshal Kim Yong-Chun. According to the vice-marshal, thanks to Kim Jong-Il’s efforts, North Korea “has turned into an invincible country which nobody dares to attack”.

Now, the minister went on to say, the state is headed by Kim Jong-Un, inspecting military units and “demonstrating firm determination to pursue further the songun policy (militarily oriented policy of North Korea)”. The vice-marshal noted that such trips “instill faith in victory into our servicemen”.

“The people and the army will defend with all efforts the central committee of the Korean Workers Party headed by Kim Jong-Un,” the minister stressed. He blasted the South Korean authorities for the provocative policy of confrontation against fellow countrymen in the North.

Following the rally in the central square of Pyongyang where a large portrait of Kim Jong-Il was exhibited and where gun salvoes thundered, North Korean people honoured the memory of the passed leader with three-minute silence exactly at 12.00 local time. All locomotives and ships as well as cars hooted simultaneously.

The rally was attended by all the country’s leadership, including Kim Jong-Un, heads and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions, officers of international humanitarian organizations, operating here, and foreign reporters.

Rallies and meetings, dedicated to Kim Jong-Il who headed North Korea over the past 17 years, took place in all districts of the country. The head of state passed away on last December 17 of a heart attack, caused by extreme overwork.

Members of the DPRK central leadership attending a national memorial rally in Pyongyang on 25 March 2012. Seen in attendance in this image (L-R) are: Jang Song Taek; Gen. O Kuk Ryol; Kim Ki Nam; VMar Ri Yong Mu; VMar Kim Yong Chun; VMar Ri Yong Ho; Kim Jong Un; Kim Yong Nam; Choe Yong Rim (Photo: KCNA)

Kim Jong Un (2nd R) bows during a 25 March national memorial rally held to end the 100-days of mourning for his father, Kim Jong Il. In this image are: NDC Vice Chairman, VMar Ri Yong Mu (L); NDC Vice Chairman and Minister of the People's Armed Forces, VMar Kim Yong Chun (2nd L); Chief of the KPA General Staff, VMar Ri Yong Ho; and, SPA Presidium President Kim Yong Nam (Photo: KCNA)

Kim Jong-Un (C), top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), attends the memorial service to mark the 100th day since the death of Kim Jong Il, late top leader of DPRK, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on March 25, 2012. (Xinhua/Zhang Li)

NHK reports:

North Korea held a large ceremony on Sunday to mark the 100th day after the death of former leader Kim Jong Il.

Many military personnel gathered at a square in Pyongyang, the capital, where a huge portrait of the former leader was placed.

Kim’s son and the country’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, appeared on a podium with top officials of the Workers’ Party and military and they together observed a moment of silence.

The prayer was followed by a speech by Premier Choe Yong Rim, in which he praised the former leader and stressed that Kim Jong Un will carry on his achievements.

Choe also condemned South Korea’s government of President Lee Myung-bak.

Sunday’s ceremony is seen as North Korea’s attempt to show at home and abroad that the period of mourning for the former leader has ended. It is also apparently designed to arouse loyalty from military personnel.

North Korea plans to hold a series of political events next month to mark the centenary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il Sung. They include a meeting of representatives of the Workers’ Party and a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s parliament.

North Korea also plans to launch a rocket carrying a satellite. The plan has drawn criticism from Japan, the United States, South Korea, and other countries as a violation of UN resolutions as the launch will involve long-range ballistic missile technology.

Kim Jong Un (C) and members of the central leadership prepare to bow in front of an image of Kim Jong Il mounted on marble (below) at Ku'msusan Memorial Palace, as the DPRK ended its 100-day mourning period. (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Members of the central leadership bow to an image of Kim Jong Il. Standing behind Kim Jong Un are: his aunt Kim Kyong Hui (1st row, L) DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim (1st row, 2nd L) DPRK Vice Premier Kang Sok Ju (2nd row, 3rd R), Chief of the KPA General Staff VMar Ri Yong Ho (1st row, 2nd R) and NDC Vice Chairman and Minister of the People's Armed Forces Kim Yong Chun (1st row, R) (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Members of the central leadership bow to an image of Kim Jong Il. Standing behind Kim Jong Un are: SPA Presidium President Kim Yong Nam (L), NDC Vice Chairman Gen. O Kuk Ryol (3rd R), NDC Vice Chairman and Kim Jong Un's uncle Jang Song Taek (2nd R) and NDC Member and Senior Vice Director of the KPA General Political Department, VMar Kim Jong Gak (R) (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Meanwhile, northwest of Pyongyang, preparations for the April 2012 launch of the U’nha-3 are underway.  Yonhap reports:

North Korea has brought the main body of a long-range rocket to a launch site in the northwestern part of the impoverished, nuclear-armed communist state, a local report said Sunday.

A train took the main body to the launch facility in Dongchang-ri, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, Saturday, Fuji Television said citing informed sources.

North Korea has said it will launch the rocket to put an observation satellite into orbit between April 12 and 16 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founding father Kim Il-sung, which falls on April 15.

Kim Il-sung is the father of Kim Jong-il, the late North Korean leader who died of heart attack in December. Kim Jong-il’s son, Jong-un, has taken over in the unprecedented third-generation power transition in any communist state.

South Korea and the United States have called on the North to refrain from the planned rocket launch, seeing it as a disguised ballistic missile test.

The North’s move comes as U.S. President Barack Obama and scores of other global leaders are flocking to Seoul to attend the second Nuclear Security Summit.

Washington has said it will not provide food aid to Pyongyang if the North proceeds with the rocket launch, although the U.S. agreed in February to ship 240,000 tons of food to the impoverished North in return for the North’s moratorium on missile and nuclear tests and freeze of uranium enrichment.

North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions imposed in 2009 after Pyongyang’s nuclear and long-range rocket tests.

A view of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongch'ang-ri, North P'yo'ngan Province, taken on 20 March 2012 (Photo: Yonhap)

RT reports on the preparations of the launch, as well as reactions and interactions in Seoul where the Nuclear Security Summit will open on Monday (26 March):

North Korean military specialists have delivered parts of a ballistic missile to the country’s northwestern launch pad, South Korean military informed. The launch is at the center of international concern as it is believed to have a military motive.

­Pyongyang is preparing to mark the centennial of North Korea founder, “farther of nation” Kim Il-sun in April with Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite space launch. The country is firmly intended to conduct a launch around April 15 according to North Korea’s Foreign Ministry. North Korea insists that the launch is purely civilian and that it has a sovereign right to pursue space exploration.

Washington believes North Korea’s rocket launches are a cover to test a nuclear warhead delivery vehicle. If the test is successful, Pyongyang’s long-range rocket will be capable of targeting Alaska and beyond.

North Korea’s upcoming rocket launch is going to be aimed south into a triangle area “roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines”, a senior US official has warned.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday that Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, shared this information with Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on North Korean leaders to abstain from carrying out the launch. He recalled UN Resolution 1874, which prohibits North Korea from developing and testing long-range missiles and having an active nuclear weapons program. This resolution was adopted in 2009 after a North Korean space launch, and the new firing is being considered a violation of the UN-adopted resolution.

The UN secretary-general met South Korean leader Lee Myung-bak in Seoul and they called the missile test a “provocation against the international community.”

The North Korean launch is expected to dominate sideline discussions of leaders from nearly 60 countries at the nuclear security summit in Seoul.

North Korean neighbor Japan condemns the test and announced it is going to shot the rocket down using three AEGIS warships should it threaten the country.

The US, France, Russia and other countries condemned North Korea’s plans.

American President Barack Obama has visited the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea on Sunday. He observed the movements of North Korean troops on the other side being behind armored glass just 100 meters from the 38th parallel that divides the two countries.

President Obama warned Pyongyang would find itself in even deeper isolation from the international community if the long-range rocket launch takes place.

“North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations,” Obama said during a news conference in Seoul. “Bad behavior will not be rewarded,” Obama added.

North Korea has been consistently insisting on the peaceful nature of its space program. But since the country’s population continues to live in desperate need, it is hard to explain why a country dependent on foreign humanitarian aid needs multi-stage rockets capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

The BBC reports  (video of Obama Camp Bonifas here)

In response to questions from journalists, the two leaders said it was hard to make an assessment of North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong-un, who came to power following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in December.Mr Obama said it was “not clear exactly who is calling the shots” in North Korea and what their long-term objectives were, while Mr Lee said the planned rocket launch was a “disappointment”.

The BBC’s Lucy Williamson in Seoul says there had been hopes that the US aid deal and a new, young leader were indications the crisis could be moving towards resolution, but that with the announcement of the missile test, those hopes have gone.

The launch is scheduled for 12-16 April, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the country late Great Leader Kim Il-sung.

South Korean defence officials say the main body of the rocket has now been moved to the launch site in preparation.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Obama visited some of the US personnel based at the the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) which separates the two Koreas.

The US has some 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea under a post-Korean War security alliance.

Mr Obama told the soldiers they were defending “freedom’s frontier” and thanked them for helping to “create the space and the opportunity for freedom and prosperity”.

Mr Lee is hosting more than 50 countries for a two-day summit on nuclear security in Seoul starting on Monday.

The summit’s main focus will be preventing criminal or militant groups from acquiring nuclear weapons – North Korea is not officially on the agenda but is expected to feature in talks on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, North Koreans have been marking the end of 100 days of official mourning for Kim Jong-il. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Pyongyang to pay tribute to the leader, who died of a heart attack in December.

The Associated Press reports:

The president’s three-day trip here amounts to a reminder of the international struggles in his lap in the midst of a re-election year driven more by economic woes. He came to solidify pressure on North Korea, seek help with crises in Syria and Iran and advance a global effort he spearheaded to keep nuclear material from getting into terrorists’ hands.

Obama wore a tired look after a 17-hour flight from Washington, a helicopter ride to the border zone, two sets of diplomatic talks, the news conference and an official dinner. But he succeeded in showing solidarity with his diplomatic friend, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and in cementing a lasting presidential image from inside no-man’s land.

The Demilitarized Zone is a Cold War anachronism, a legacy of the uncertain armistice that ended the Korean War nearly 60 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of troops stand ready on both sides of the border zone, which is littered with land mines and encased in razor wire.

From a lookout point with binoculars is hand, Obama peered North, then South, within a football-field’s length of the demarcation line.

He also shook hands and spoke briefly in the dining hall at a U.S. military camp just outside the 2.5-mile-zone, saying the troops were working at “freedom’s frontier.”

The United States has about 28,500 troops in South Korea, a deterrent force and a symbol of the military might Obama wants to keep in Asia.

The planned rocket launch by North Korea is yet another setback for the U.S. in years of on-again, off-again attempts to launch real negotiations.

North Korea walked away from international disarmament talks in 2009. Years of fitful negotiations had succeeded in ending part of North Korea’s nuclear program but failed in stopping it from building and testing nuclear devices and long-range missiles that might be able to carry bombs.

Obama said the launch would jeopardize a new deal for the U.S. to resume food aid to North Korea, and the world community would likely respond with another round of sanctions.

The big consequence for North Korea, he said, would be one big blown opportunity.

“If a country can’t feed its people effectively, if it can’t make anything of any use to anybody, if it has no exports other than weapons, and even those aren’t ones that in any way would be considered state-of-the-art … then you’d think you’d want to try something different.”

For his part, Lee said: “There is no difference of opinion between the U.S. and South Korea. We’ll remain very calm and rational and we will be wise in dealing with the North Koreans if in fact they do go ahead with their announcement.”

Obama has called nuclear terrorism the gravest threat the United States and the world may face. North Korea is a prime suspect in the proliferation of some nuclear know-how, along with missiles that could be used to deliver weapons of mass destruction.

DPRK Invites Journalists and Experts to Observe Kwangmyongsong-3 Launch

Kim Jong Un (C) visits the KPA Strategic Rocket Forces Command (Photo: KCNA)

The Korea Committee for Space Technology reports in DPRK media that it officially notified several relevant international organizations of its intention to launch the Kwangmyo’ngso’ng-3.  KCNA reports:

The relevant bodies of the DPRK sent necessary information to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Maritime Organization, the International Telecommunication Union and others according to international regulations and procedures as part of the preparations for the launch of earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong-3.

The Korean Committee for Space Technology will invite experienced foreign experts on space science and technology and journalists to visit the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, the General Satellite Control and Command Centre and other places and observe its launch.

Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun conveyed his country’s concerns over the launch to DPRK Ambassador to the PRC Ji Jae Ryong.  Xinhua reports:

The U.S. Defense Department warned Friday that the launch of a long-range rocket would violate a series of UN resolutions and considered it as a “destabilizing behavior” to the Asia-Pacific region.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby urged the DPRK leadership to “reconsider this decision and to conform to their obligations under those sanctions.”

“We continue to operate every day with our South Korean counterparts and we hold firmly to our alliance obligations and to security on the Korean Peninsula,” said Kirby.

He added that the Defense Department is “very comfortable with the full range of military capabilities we have at our disposal in the Asia Pacific region and in and around the Korean peninsula.”

The U.S. State Department also said the launch plan could jeopardize nascent efforts to restart nuclear negotiations with the DPRK and made it “very hard” to go forward with its planned food assistance to the DPRK.

“Were we to have the launch, it would create obviously tensions and that would make the implementation of any kind of nutritional agreement quite difficult,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, hinting that the DPRK’s latest move was “an abrogation of that agreement.”

According to a deal reached between Pyongyang and Washington in Beijing late last month, the United States agreed to provide 240,000 tons of food as aid to the DPRK in exchange for Pyongyang’s promise to impose a moratorium on nuclear tests and missile launches, and allow checks by international nuclear inspectors.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slammed the DPRK’s launch plan as “highly provocative,” warning that such a launch would pose a threat to regional security and would also be inconsistent with the DPRK’s recent undertaking to refrain from long-range missile launches.

Clinton urged the DPRK to “adhere to its international obligations, including all relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” adding that Washington is consulting closely with its international partners on the next steps.

Meanwhile, Russia said it was also seriously concerned about Pyongyang’s rocket launch plan, urging it not to proceed with it.

Russia’s foreign ministry called on the DPRK not to oppose itself to the international community, and create additional difficulties for restarting the six-party talks on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

Moscow also said the resumption of the long-stalled talks and diplomatic solutions are the only viable option available to both terminate the nuclear problems in the region and to lift the UN sanctions against the country, which is prohibited from conducting launches that use ballistic missile technology.

However, the ministry also said Moscow had never denied the DPRK’s sovereign right to pursue peaceful space programs and urged all parties involved to exercise maximum restraint.

The DPRK’s neighboring country South Korea Friday also voiced its “serious concern” over the plan, calling it a “grave provocation threatening the peace and security” on the Korean Peninsula as well as Northeast Asia.

The South Korean foreign ministry said it would work closely with related countries, including members of the six-party talks, to urge the DPRK to “immediately stop provocative act and abide by its international obligations.”

Also on Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is “seriously concerned” about the DPRK’s satellite launch.

In a statement, the UN chief called on Pyongyang to fully comply with the UN resolutions that ban any launch using ballistic missile technology.

China has also voiced its concern over the DPRK’s satellite launch plan.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, in a meeting with the DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong on Friday, expressed China’s worry over the matter, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Zhang exchanged views with Ji on China-DPRK ties and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, said the statement.

Zhang said China had taken note of the DPRK’s satellite plan as well as the reaction from the international community. China believes it is the common obligation and in common interests of all parties concerned to maintain the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, said the statement.

“We sincerely hope parties concerned stay calm and exercise restraint and avoid escalation of tension that may lead to a more complicated situation,” Zhang was quoted as saying.

On April 5, 2009, the DPRK conducted a similar launch, which, according to the country’s official KCNA news agency, successfully put a “Kwangmyongsong-2″ communications satellite into orbit. But some countries, including South Korea, Russia and the United States, believed the launch was a failure. The launch brought about criticism and tightened sanctions on the DPRK.

The DPRK insists its satellite launches are for peaceful and scientific purposes. The KCNA said in a report on Friday that the upcoming launch would greatly encourage the army and people of the DPRK in the building of a thriving nation and will offer an important occasion of putting the country’s technology of space use “for peaceful purposes on a higher stage.”