Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan discuss N.K. space rocket launch plan

▲ Foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk speaks during a press briefing at Seoul's foreign ministry on Oct. 10, 2023. (Yonhap)

S Korea-US-Japan-nuke envoys

Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan discuss N.K. space rocket launch plan

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- The nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Tuesday discussed over the phone North Korea's imminent space rocket launch, Seoul's foreign ministry said, hours after Pyongyang notified Tokyo of its plan to carry out the test launch soon.

Kim Gunn, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, spoke by phone with Jung Pak, the U.S. deputy special representative for North Korea, and Hiroyuki Namazu, director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Japan's foreign ministry.

They discussed ways to coordinate on the joint response as the North notified Japan of its plan to launch a space rocket between Wednesday and Dec. 1, the ministry said.

Japanese media reported that the three envoys "strongly urged North Korea to call off the plan to launch a space rocket using ballistic missile technology," and agreed to work closely for a united response and to strengthen regional deterrence.

South Korea's foreign ministry echoed the position.

"We find it very regrettable that North Korea announced the launch plan despite repeated warnings from the international community," ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a press briefing.

Launching the "so-called military spy satellite" using ballistic missile technology is a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and North Korea "cannot justify it under any pretext," Lim added.

The launch, if carried out, would be its third attempt to put a military spy satellite into orbit, after two botched attempts in May and August, respectively.

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