SEOUL, March 19 (UPI) -- South Korea Monday called North Korea's plan to launch a rocket a "grave provocation" and a step toward developing long-range ballistic nuclear weapons.
The statement from South Korea President Lee Myung-bak's office came after he met with foreign affairs and security ministers about the North's announcement Friday that it would launch a long-range rocket next month to send into orbit a satellite to observe the Earth, Yonhap News Agency reported.
"Our government defines North Korea's so-called working satellite launch plan as a grave provocation to develop a long-distance delivery means for nuclear weapons by using ballistic missile technology," presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said.
The North said a rocket carrying the satellite would be fired from western North Korea between April 12 and April 16.
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The Korea Herald reported the United States, Japan, Russia, the European Union and China, North Korea's closet ally, agree with the South that the North should drop the plan.
Park said the South will "work closely" with those countries on the response to the North's plan at the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit March 26-27.
If the North goes ahead with the missile launch, the United States said it would not honor a Feb. 29 agreement to provide U.S. food aid to the North in exchange for its freezing its nuclear programs and putting a moratorium on long-range missiles.
The North said Sunday it had the sovereign right to go ahead with the launch.
North Korea drew widespread international criticism when it conducted a long-range rocket test in 2009. The second nuclear test in the country's history came a month after the long-range rocket test.
