Japan Press Weekly

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2016 January 27 - February 2 TOP3 [JCP]

Shii issues statement on N. Korea’s ‘rocket’ launch plan

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on February 3 issued the following statement concerning the North Korea’s “rocket” launch plan.

The government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea announced that it will launch an "Earth observation satellite" during the period from 8 to 25 February. With its recent nuclear test conducted in January, this launch will further undermine the peace and stability in the region and beyond. The Japanese Communist Party strongly protests against the plan and urges the DPRK government to cancel it.

The United Nations Security Council resolutions, including the resolution 2094 (March 2013), demanded that the DPRK not conduct any further ballistic missile launch or “any launch using ballistic missile technology” including that of a satellite. The United Nations so decided because the DPRK had already gone ahead with nuclear tests in serious violation of previous resolutions, the Joint Statement of the Six Party Talks as well as the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration. Any justification for launching a satellite claimed by the DPRK government does not hold up under scrutiny.

The JCP calls on the international community to strengthen concerted diplomatic efforts to have the launch plan withdrawn and to resolve the DPRK’s nuclear issue comprehensively.