In Manila, the government went ahead with precautionary measures in the event fragments from the rocket, scheduled for launch anytime between Thursday and Monday, fall into the country. as President Aquino’s spokesman expressed hope that Pyongyang will abandon its rocket launch.
“We have always said that we prepare for the worst and hope for the best. What is important is that the government is taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety of our citizens,” said Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda.
“It will be grossly irresponsible for us not to take precautionary measures in light of the situation,” he said.
The Associated Press was among foreign news agencies allowed a firsthand look Sunday at preparations under way at the coastal Sohae Satellite Station in northwestern North Korea.
North Korea announced plans last month to launch an observation satellite using a three-stage rocket during mid-April celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.
The US, Japan, Britain, the Philippines and other nations have urged North Korea to cancel the launch, warning that firing the long-range rocket would violate UN resolutions and North Korea’s promise to refrain from engaging in nuclear and missile activity.
North Korea maintains that the launch is a scientific achievement intended to improve the nation’s faltering economy by providing detailed surveys of the countryside.
“Our country has the right and also the obligation to develop satellites and launching vehicles,” Jang Myong Jin, general manager of the launch facility, said during a tour, citing the U.N. space treaty. “No matter what others say, we are doing this for peaceful purposes.”
On Sunday, reporters were taken by train past desolate fields and sleepy farming hamlets to North Korea's new launch pad in Tongchang-ri in North Phyongan province, about 50 kilometers (35 miles) south of the border town of Sinuiju along North Korea's west coast.
The satellite is designed to send back images and information that will be used for weather forecasts as well as surveys of North Korea's natural resources, Jang said. He said a western launch was chosen to avoid showering neighboring nations with debris. He said two previous satellites also named Kwangmyongsong, or Bright Shining Star, were experimental, but the third will be operational.
However, Brian Weeden, a technical adviser at Secure World Foundation who is a former Air Force officer at the US Space Command, questioned whether North Korea truly has the technology to successfully send a satellite into orbit.
Due to its limited capabilities to shoot down Pyongyang’s rocket once it enters the country’s airspace, the Philippine government will implement some restrictions, including a no-fly zone in affected areas, to minimize its impact.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) announced earlier it will impose a no-fly zone and sailing ban in the northern part of the country where the debris from North Korea’s long-range rocket may fall this week.
The restrictions will cover areas located east of Northern Luzon, particularly Sta. Ana in Cagayan province.
NDRRMC Executive Director Benito Ramos also appealed to the public not to touch or sell to scrap dealers and junk shops any debris found that could have possibly come from North Korea’s rocket. (With reports from Genalyn D. Kabiling, Elena L. Aben, and Czarina Nicole O. Ong)
Source : By Manila Bulletin
