The United States warned North Korea yesterday its plan to launch a satellite with a long-range rocket could violate its February agreement on a nuclear moratorium, and scuttle US plans to resume food aid.
The state department condemned Pyongyang’s announcement of plans for the satellite launch next month, which it said could torpedo nascent efforts to restart broader nuclear negotiations with the secretive state. “If they were to go forward with this launch it is very hard to imagine how we would be able to move forward with a regime whose word we have no confidence in,” said state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. North Korea said the satellite launch would mark the centenary of founder Kim Il-sung’s birth next month. – (Reuters)