China echoes concerns over North Korean rocket launch plans
SEOUL —
China on Wednesday joined the global chorus of anger and concern over a planned rocket launch by North Korea, while Japan vowed to shoot down any missile that threatened its territory.
The reactions followed Tuesday’s confirmation by Pyongyang that it would launch a rocket sometime between Feb 8-25 in what amounts to another major violation of U.N. resolutions just weeks after its fourth nuclear test.
“We express serious concerns about that,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in Beijing, calling on Pyongyang to abide by UN strictures forbidding its use of ballistic missile technology—even for ostensibly peaceful purposes.
The North insists its space program is purely scientific in nature, but the United States and its allies say its rocket launches are aimed at developing an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking the U.S. mainland.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/world/view/china-echoes-concerns-over-north-korean-rocket-launch-plans
