February 04, 2016•Update: February 04, 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
Seoul’s Defense Ministry warned Thursday that it was ready to “intercept” a rocket from North Korea, echoing a similar statement from the Japanese government hours earlier -- as a spokesperson also confirmed that South Korea was aware of preparations at the North’s Dongchang-ri launch site.
North Korea’s neighbors have been on heightened alert since Tuesday, when Pyongyang informed a United Nations maritime agency that it would launch a satellite between Feb. 8-25 -- despite being barred from using ballistic missile technology under UN resolutions.
South Korea’s presidential office said Wednesday that Pyongyang will have to “pay a harsh price” if it goes ahead with its plan.
But the North is yet to be punished for carrying out a prohibited nuclear test last month, with China and Russia voicing concerns about imposing tough sanctions.
Regarding a first North Korean rocket launch since 2012, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson Moon Sang-gyun told reporters that “the military is ramping up its air defense readiness so it can intercept a missile or any debris that lands in our territory or waters.”
Moon also revealed that the South is working with the United States to monitor any launch that takes place north of the border -- around 30,000 American military personnel are stationed on the peninsula as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Park Geun-hye released a statement via her chief press secretary condemning Pyongyang’s planned rocket launch as “a desperate measure to maintain” its authoritarian regime.
“The only way to stop North Korea's misjudgment is to make North Korea realize that it cannot survive unless it abandons its nuclear program,” Park insisted.
