Res Communis

North Korean Launch Followed Space Launch Trajectory

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

From Space Daily:

NKorea rocket followed flight path of satellite: official

by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP) April 14, 2009
A North Korean rocket fired last week appeared to have carried a satellite and to have separated in its final two stages as planned, South Korea’s defence minister said Tuesday.

The three-stage rocket launched on April 5 “followed the trajectory of a satellite” although the North failed to put it into orbit, minister Lee Sang-Hee told parliament. . . . [Full Story]

New FCC Satellite Communications Public Notices

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

Two new Satellite Communications public notices from the FCC:

Report No. SES-01130 Wednesday April 15, 2009
RE: ACTIONS TAKEN
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES INFORMATION

Report No. SES-01129 Wednesday April 15, 2009
RE: SATELLITE RADIO APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED FOR FILING
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

White House Press Secretary on UN Security Council and DPRK

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

From the White House:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secrectary
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release April 14, 2009

PRESS BRIEFING
BY PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
1:17 P.M. EDT

MR. GIBBS: Good afternoon. Before I get started, let me just make a few remarks.

The U.N. Security Council yesterday unanimously called on North Korea to implement the September 2005 agreement to eliminate its nuclear weapons program. North Korea’s announced threat to withdraw from the six-party talks and restart its nuclear program is a serious step in the wrong direction. North Korea will not find acceptance by the international community unless it verifiably abandons its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The six-party talks offer North Korea the best path towards that acceptance through dialogue. The United States is prepared to work with North Korea and its neighbors through the six-party process to reduce tensions and achieve the elimination of nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula.

We call on North Korea to cease its provocative threats, to respect the will of the international community, and to honor its international commitments and obligations.

And with that, take us away.

Q Actually, I wanted to ask about North Korea. Apparently they have — I wanted to ask if you know whether they have kicked out U.N. and U.S. personnel.

MR. GIBBS: I don’t know the answer to that, but we can certainly check and see if there’s updated guidance from NSC.

Q And then just more broadly, it seems like the situation with North Korea, the six-party talks, the whole trajectory is kind of unraveling. What’s the strategy to pull things back on track?

MR. GIBBS: Well, let’s — let me go a little bit broader for a second, because I know that after the launch some time ago, there was certainly interest in what was going to happen at the United Nations. And as I said in that brief statement, that — and I think the administration is quite pleased with the result out of the United Nations in the condemnation for the launch, in requesting that the North Koreans abandon the pursuit of its program and fulfill its obligations based on the agreement that it made, that it refrain from further provocations and that the — what the U.N. said is that there’s a time period to look at additional — the possibility of additional — additional sanctions.

So we’re pleased with what we got –

Q Won’t the North Koreans get the message that condemnations and requests for them to change actions are not exactly strong statements to make to a country that’s repeatedly defied, as you said, its obligations?

MR. GIBBS: Well, I don’t — let me turn that question a little bit around, because I think there was some question about whether or not you could even get five members of a Security Council, or five of the permanent members of the Security Council to agree on a condemnation. Yesterday, 15 countries unanimously stood up and spoke out about the launch.

Q But it took almost two weeks to get there.

MR. GIBBS: Well, you know, sometimes progress takes longer than a couple of days. I think that — I know that you all had an interest in what the Security Council was going to do; at least you did several days ago. I think it’s important to understand what the Security Council did. And remember, this is not — this is asking the North Koreans to live up to the agreement that the North Koreans entered into. This is not some pie-in-the-sky thing that a group of countries has asked another to do. This is the unanimous Security Council asking the North Koreans to live up to the obligations that it entered into in September of 2005, that we can seek a denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Q Yes, but one might reasonably wonder where the leverage is if every agreement they make, they eventually decide to break.

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think part of the leverage is going back to, again, some doubt that many of you may have had in the moments or hours after the launch as to whether countries could act in concert, together, to condemn the launch.

I think there certainly was some doubt expressed for that, and I think the manner in which the Security Council came to this condemnation is extremely important.

Yes, sir. . . .

. . . Q Robert, two questions, a follow-up on North Korea. Can you explain how the — what the U.N. did yesterday sort of backs up what the President said in Prague, which was –

MR. GIBBS: Sure.

Q — rules must be binding, violations must be punished, words must mean something.

MR. GIBBS: Yes.

Q Do you feel as if this U.N. resolution makes all three of those statements true?

MR. GIBBS: Yes, the President asked that the launch be condemned, that it violated U.N. Resolution 1718, and the statement clearly says that. The President called for condemnation that included language that says that North Korea must abandon its nuclear program and meet the obligations that it agreed to. It says that. The resolution — the President asked that resolutions say that further provocations and launches not be undertaken, and it says that. The President asked that additional sanctions be reviewed, and the resolution passed unanimously by the 15 members of the Security Council says that.

Q So you feel that the rules are binding based on this.

MR. GIBBS: Absolutely.

Q And that there will be other consequences if they continue to violate them.

MR. GIBBS: Absolutely. That’s all contained in the resolution that was –

Q What are those consequences?

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think the international community is working through that. I think the notion that some of the people on the Security Council took part in the condemnation is an important step. I think it is important, as I said, that the North Koreans understand that they have to live up to their obligations and that it’s time to return to what at one point were very productive six-party talks. . . .

. . . Q Robert, back on North Korea. What role does China have to play in this next round of six-party talks? And also I want to ask a question that I asked last week: What about Bo?

MR. GIBBS: What about?

Q The dog.

MR. GIBBS: Oh, the dog? In what order of importance should I address your — both of your questions?

Q Let’s go to North Korea first.

MR. GIBBS: Okay. That was a trick question, actually. Go ahead, I’m joking.

I think China has played and I think the President and the administration want and expect China to play a very constructive role in this process. I go back again to what many people thought might happen at the U.N. after the launch many days ago — I forget how many.

But the Chinese were actively involved in the statement that came out of the U.N. and Security Council yesterday, and the Chinese have been active in calling for the North Koreans to come back to the table, engage in the six-party talks, and live up to the obligations that they helped broker in September of 2005 that are important for the North Koreans to live up to.

But I think the Chinese are playing a constructive role, and we would certainly want and expect that to continue. . . .

UK: Statement on recent developments in North Korea (14/04/2009)

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

From the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office:

Statement on recent developments in North Korea (14/04/2009)
FCO Podium, Crown Copyright

A Foreign Office spokesperson made the following statement following the decision by the North Korean authorities to cease co-operation with the IAEA.

“The decision by the North Korean authorities to cease co-operation with the IAEA is completely unjustified.

The statement of the President of the Security Council yesterday, supported by all 15 members of the Council including four of the participants in the Six Party Talks, was a robust but proportionate response to the recent North Korea launch. That launch contravened Security Council Resolution 1718.

There is only one road for North Korea to follow if it wishes to take its full place as a member of the international community. It must comply with its international obligations and, in particular, cooperate fully with the IAEA in ending its nuclear weapons programme. The Six Party Talks offer the best means to that end.”

Statement by Robert Gibbs on the United Nations’ Condemnation of North Korea Launch

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

From the White House:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
__________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release April 13, 2009

Statement by Robert Gibbs on the United Nations’ Condemnation of North Korea Launch

The President welcomes today’s clear and united message by the United Nations Security Council condemning North Korea’s recent launch of a Taepo-dong 2 Missile, confirming that it violates international law and would result in real consequences for North Korea. The international community is united in demanding that North Korea abandon its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, and that it refrain from further provocations. The United States will continue working with our allies and partners in the Six-Party Talks to achieve the verifiable elimination of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and the reduction of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Security Council condemns DPR Korea’s recent launch

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

Press release from the UN News Centre:

Security Council condemns DPR Korea’s recent launch

13 April 2009 – The Security Council today spoke out against the recent rocket launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), stressing the importance of preserving peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in North-East Asia.

In a statement read out by Ambassador Claude Heller of Mexico, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency, the 15-member body deems the 5 April launch to be in contravention of resolution 1718, which demanded that the country “not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile,” following its claims to have conducted a nuclear test in October 2006.

“The Security Council demands that the DPRK not conduct any further launch,” according to today’s statement, which expressed the body’s desire for a “peaceful and diplomatic solution to the situation” and welcomed Member States’ efforts to reach a “comprehensive solution through dialogue.”

It also said that it will adjust sanctions, imposed by the 2006 resolution, by the end of this month.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the adoption of today’s statement, “which sends a unified message of the international community” on the DPRK’s launch.

According to a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban voiced hope that the Council’s actions today will “pave the way for renewed efforts towards the peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues in the region, including through the early resumption of the Six-Party Talks and the inter-Korean dialogue.”

Expressing its support for the also expressed it support for the resumption of the so-called Six-Party Talks – involving China, DPRK, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States – the Council called on these nations to step up efforts to implement the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005 in which the DPRK committed itself to abandon nuclear weapons and rejoin the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Addressing reporters after today’s Council meeting, Mr. Heller said the statement adopted unanimously sends a “clear message” to the DPRK, signalling that the East Asian nation must “show that it’s capable [of fulfilling] this confidence gap that exists before the international community for past actions.”