North Korea launch will violate U.N. sanctions - officials

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Japan has the backing of several of its G20 partners including South Korea and Britain to refer North Korea to the UN Security Council over its imminent rocket launch, a senior official said.

"The launch will clearly constitute a violation of the Security Council resolutions, so it needs to be discussed in the appropriate manner in the council," said Osamu Sakashita, deputy cabinet secretary for public relations.

The North Korean launch could come as soon as this weekend, diplomats believe.

"We have been discussing with a number of countries about taking this to the UN and we have the support of countries including the United Kingdom and South Korea," Sakashita told journalists at a pre-G20 summit briefing late Wednesday.

North Korea started fueling a rocket ahead of a planned satellite launch that could come as early as this weekend, CNN television reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed US military official.

Fueling would confirm the regime is entering the final preparations for the launch which it has announced will occur during an April 4-8 window.

SEOUL - North Korea’s planned rocket launch in the next week would violate U.N. resolutions even if the secretive state tried to put a satellite into space, officials in South Korea and Japan said on Wednesday.

The missile North Korea could launch as soon as this weekend appears to have a bulb-shaped tip that gives credence to Pyongyang’s claim it plans to put a satellite in space, U.S. defence officials said on Tuesday.

The United States, Japan and South Korea see the launch as a disguised military test because the rocket being used is a long-range missile called the Taepodong-2, which is designed to carry a warhead as far as Alaska.

"Whether it is a satellite or a missile, it is still a violation of U.N. sanctions," a South Korea Foreign Ministry official said.