SEOUL (dpa) – North Korea said Friday it would launch an observation satellite into orbit in April to mark the centenary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il Sung, a news report said. The Kwangmyongsong-3, borne by the Unha-3 carrier rocket, was to be launched between April 12 and 16, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted a spokesman for Pyongyang's Committee for Space Technology as saying. Kim was born April 15, 1912. The “polar-orbiting, Earth-observation satellite will be blasted off southward from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station” in the eastern province of North Phyongan, which lies on the Chinese border and Yellow Sea, the spokesman said. The launch “will strictly abide by relevant international regulations and usage concerning the launch of scientific and technological satellites for peaceful purposes,” the spokesman was quoted as saying in the report, which described the rocket as a “long-range missile.” Pyongyang agreed February 29 to stop several activities relating to its nuclear weapons program, including long-range missile tests, as part of a deal with the United States in exchange for food aid. The deal, under which Pyongyang was also to stop the enrichment of uranium at a major nuclear facility and permit visits by nuclear inspectors, had raised hopes of a possible resumption of six-nation talks on North Korean's nuclear weapons program. The talks involve North and South Korea, China, the US, Japan and Russia. They have been stalled since late 2008. They achieved an agreement in 2005 in which North Korea was to dismantle its nuclear program, but the reclusive communist state has since carried out two nuclear tests and long-range missile launches. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/wJCOa Tags: Korea, Launch, North, Satellite Section: Asia, Latest News
