US Warns Three Nations On April North Korean Missile Launch

The United States has warned that the flight path of North Korea's upcoming rocket launch, due in April, may affect Australian and two Southeast Asian nations.

The US had warned Australia about the alleged missile's trajectory through Kurt Campbell, a senior official in Obama administration, who delivered the warning to Australian foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr in person during his visit to Sydney, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

North Korea announced last week that it will be launching a rocket to place a working satellite to earth's orbit in April. Though the Pyongyang administration claims its rocket launch is purely for peaceful scientific purpose, the U.S. and other world powers see it as disguised attempt to test their long range ballistic missile.

It was earlier reported that North Korea will launch its rocket towards Japan. Japan and the US reportedly had planned joint operation to shoot down the rocket if it violates Japan's air space.

If the missile test proceeds as North Korea has indicated, our judgment is that it will impact in an area roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines, Dr Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, told the Sydney Morning Herald Friday.

Karr indicated that the planned missile trajectory is new and is a blatant violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea announced its plan to launch the missile, three weeks after the announcement of a deal with the US which prevented it from testing any of its long range missiles.

The West and other nuclear powers are concerned about North Korea's nuclear and missile program and believe that Pyongyang posses a real threat to the security of the region. The negotiations are made in diplomatic levels to stop the military regime from continuing with its nuclear program.

However, North Korea has remained adamant about their missile launch and had made it clear it will not bog down to the pressure.

North Korea conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. Though there is no clear picture about the nuclear capabilities of the country, except its own claims, international experts on the issue believe that Pyongyang do have the nuclear bomb know-how and have hundreds of missiles with varying capacities .

However, analysts believe its long range missile technology is not fully developed and it lacks expertise to mount its nuclear weapons on ballistic missiles. Hence it is trying to test its ballistic missile capabilities by launching a rocket in the pretext of a satellite launch.

Nevertheless, North Korea so far has successfully used its nuclear program to terrorize the US and other world powers in giving them food aids and other concessions even when they have continued their clandestine efforts to build nuclear weaponry.