UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged North Korea on Friday to think again about its plan to launch a satellite with a long-range rocket, saying he was "seriously concerned" by Pyongyang's announcement. "The Secretary-General urges the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) to reconsider its decision in line with its recent undertaking to refrain from long-range missile launches," Ban's office said in a statement.
North Korea said on Friday the satellite launch via long-range rocket would mark the centenary of founder Kim Il-sung's birth next month, sparking condemnation from the United States and others that it was in breach of a UN resolution. Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, urged North Korea to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions banning "any launch using ballistic missile technology."
The North, which said recently it would suspend long-range missile testing as part of talks with the United States, pledged that next month's launch would not affect neighbouring countries. Britain's UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters that such a rocket launch would likely be a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.