North Korea May Postpone Its Rocket Launch
North Korea announced today that it may postpone its rocket launch that it was planning for sometime this month. No reason was given for the potential delay.
The Washington Times quotes a North Korean spokesman as saying that the country’s scientists and technicians are “seriously examining” a change to the launch date “for some reasons.” Those reasons were not further explained.
North Korea’s three attempts to launch satellites to date have failed. The most recent was in April and attempting another launch so soon after that failure was unexpected. North Korea’s leaders reportedly wanted to launch in December to honor the first anniversary of the death of their leader, Kim Jong Il. His son, Kim Jong Un, is now the country’s leader.
The United States condemned the April launch and this one because they violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, calling them “highly provocative.” Other countries, including Russia and China, also expressed concern about the upcoming launch. South Korea, in particular, was alarmed, especially considering that its presidential election will be held on December 19 where relations with North Korea are a key campaign issue.
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