Japan Leader Abe To 'Strongly Demand' North Korea Refrain From Missile Launch

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday he would work with the United States and others to "strongly demand" that North Korea refrain from its planned missile launch, which he called a provocative move that threatens the nation's security.

North Korea told U.N. agencies on Tuesday it planned to launch a satellite as early as next week, a move that could advance the country's long-range missile technology after its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)