Military on Full Alert Over NK Rocket Launch
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
As North Korea's planned rocket launch could occur today at the earliest, the government is looking into all possible countermeasures.
President Lee Myung-bak plans to convene a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), while the Ministry of Unification in charge of inter-Korean affairs said Friday it had advised civic group members to refrain from visiting the North.
President Lee said the government was willing to send a special envoy to North Korea if the North would accept this.
He made the remark in a meeting with foreign journalists in London. Lee returns home today after his trip to London for the Group of 20 Summit.
President Lee said that Pyongyang could fire the rocket today, if the weather is fine.
``North Korea seems to have almost finished fueling the rocket, so it is highly likely it will launch it,'' a government official said on condition of anonymity. ``Ministries dealing with foreign affairs and security are on alert to cope with it.''
The Korean Meteorological Agency (KMA) has forecast that it will be cloudy over the North's Musudan-ri missile base on the east coast over the weekend, but intelligence authorities said this would not affect the plan.
U.S. officials also say any action could be imminent.
``They're doing everything consistent with the launch of a space vehicle on April 4,'' an unidentified defense official was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Pyongyang told international aviation organizations late last month that it will place a ``satellite'' in orbit between April 4 and 8, as part of its space program.
Despite the North's claim that this was for ``peaceful purposes,'' the outside world has expressed concern because a satellite and missile share the same launch vehicle, which means the successful placement of a satellite could lead to a missile launch in the future.
North Korea's long-range Taepodong-2 missile is said to be capable of reaching Alaska and Hawaii.
President Lee will hold an NSC meeting immediately after the North launches the rocket, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
The Ministry of Unification has officials in charge of the missile issue on standby and plans to discuss the situation with the United States and Japan.
The ministry is also reviewing whether to issue a statement denouncing the North's action, and joining the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), despite North Korea's threat of an armed response.
The PSI initiated by the former Bush administration six years ago, is partly aimed at preventing the communist state from gaining weapons of mass destruction by intercepting ships suspected of carrying either weapons or weapon materials.
The Ministry of National Defense also plans to monitor the missile base, and areas near the Northern Limited Line (NLL) and the Military Demarcation Line where provocative action by the North could possibly take place.
The unification ministry asked civic organizations which have plans to travel to the North to postpone their schedule.
``We will take measures necessary for the security of South Koreans,'' ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo told reporters. ``We advise them to deeply re-consider their visit to the North.''
The government will also check communication channels with South Korean workers in the joint Gaeseong Industrial Complex and Pyongyang to ensure their safety, she added.