Turkey condemns North Korea’s long-range rocket launch

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

AFP photo

Turkey has condemned the launch of a long-range rocket by North Korea, calling it a violation of international obligations, the Foreign Ministry said on Feb. 7 in a statement.

“As with the fourth nuclear test by North Korea on Jan. 6, this launch constitutes once again a total disregard to regional and international security and stability,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.      

Turkey’s reaction came after North Korea said it successfully blasted a satellite into orbit. 

The official statement carried by Pyongyang’s state-run media was backed up by a South Korean military official, who was quoted by local news agency Yonhap as admitting, “It’s presumed that the projectile has entered into orbit.”      

The ministry statement said Ankara was “deeply concerned by the possible negative implications of this irresponsible step taken by North Korea despite all international warnings.” 

“We urge North Korea to fully comply with its obligations under the relevant U.N. Security Council Resolutions without delay,” the statement said. 

The statement also said that Turkey attaches importance to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and encourages the immediate resumption of the Six-Party Talks, held intermittently over the last decade by the U.S. Russia, China, Japan and the two Koreas.      

The U.N. Security Council gathered on Feb. 7 in a closed-door meeting to discuss the issue at the request of South Korea, Japan and the U.S., strongly condemning the long-range rocket launch in a statement and vowing a new resolution for sanctions. 

U.N. resolutions bar the North from ballistic missile technology, but the authoritarian state is yet to be punished for its nuclear test last month.      

A statement from Seoul’s presidential office condemned the rocket launch as “an extreme provocation.”
The launch was also condemned by the U.S. administration, with National Security Advisor Susan Rice stressing that it violated multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. China also expressed regret over the launch. 

The Kremlin also strongly condemned on Feb. 8 North Korea’s latest rocket launch, calling it a violation of international law, Reuters reported. 

Commenting on reports that Russian components had been used in the rocket launch by North Korea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “This is rather a technological question.” He did not elaborate. 

“Our attitude to this launch... was unambiguously displayed in the full unity of the [United Nations] Security Council,” Peskov told journalists in a conference call.