I suppose that these two coordinates are where first and second stage booster rockets would fall. The following diagram shows the locations.
From Yonhap News:
Posted on 03/12/2009 8:36:59 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
(5th LD) N. Korea gives notice of satellite launch in early April
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea gave a notice that it will launch a satellite between April 4-8, an international agency said Thursday, prompting brisk talks among regional countries to prepare their coordinated measures.
Pyongyang's state media said earlier in the day that it has informed the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the planned launch, without specifying the date.
The IMO confirmed it has received a letter from Pyongyang that said the launch would be between April 4-8.
"IMO can confirm that it has received a communication from the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea concerning the intended launch of an experimental communications satellite," the London-based agency said in an emailed statement.
The letter from "the North Korean maritime administration in Pyongyang" was received on Wednesday London time, the IMO spokesman Lee Adamson said over the telepohone. The IMO will soon issue safety guidelines for ships and member countries, he said.
Seoul officials said the North Korean rocket would be directed over the East Sea and the Pacific, citing information on the orbiting coordinates they received from the international agencies earlier Thursday.
"We have received information from the IMO about when the launch will be, the planned launch of an experimental communications satellite and the zones to be affected," said Kim Hae-gwang, an official at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
A government source, requesting anonymity, said there are no signs of an imminent launch, but that North Korea will be technically ready for the launch by early next month.
North Korea said on Thursday it has joined two international treaties for space development -- the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, and the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
The entry was not necessary. Non-member states can also launch a satellite.
"The DPRK's accession to the said treaty and convention will contribute to promoting international confidence and boosting cooperation in scientific research into space and the satellite launch for peaceful purposes," the North's Korean Central News Agency said.
Paik Hak-soon, an analyst with the independent Sejong Institute in Seoul, said North Korea is taking a safe route by following international procedures. If successful, the launch will virtually declare North Korea, which conducted its first atomic test in 2006, a nuclear state that has both nuclear weapons and the means to launch them.
"Through this process of notification, it is trying to avoid a bad image as well as international sanctions," Paik said.
Paik also noted North Korea may have carefully timed the launch to amplify its effect on internal politics. In April, North Korea celebrates a series of important events. Leader Kim Jong-il was appointed as chairman of the National Defense Commission, the highest decision-making body that oversees the country's 1.19-million strong military, on April 9, 1993. One of the nation's biggest holidays -- the birthday of Kim's late father and North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung -- falls on April 15.
Neighboring countries were unanimously opposed to the North Korean satellite launch, but there were signs of a rift in handling it.
South Korean officials said the launch -- whether it is a satellite or a missile -- would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution banning the North's ballistic missile activity. The resolution was adopted after its nuclear and missile tests in 2006.
"Based on cooperation with pertinent nations, our government will continue to urge North Korea to suspend its tension-raising activities, including a missile launch," Unification Minister Hyun In-taek told a parliament committee on Thursday.
But Russia took a more cautious stance.
"Let us see when things really happen, and then make conclusions and assessment," Russia's Vice Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin, who serves as Moscow's chief nuclear envoy, told Yonhap after meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan in Seoul.
The U.S. appeared to be retreating from its earlier position that it was ready to intercept a ballistic missile from North Korea.
"I wouldn't get into what, if any, preparations we make to deal with that possibility," Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters on Wednesday.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said both the U.S. and China agree the rocket launch would be a violation of the U.N. resolution and urged North Korea to refrain from the rocket launch.
"I think that our partners in the six-party talks are concerned about the missile launch," Clinton said after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
Japanese military officials have been weighing whether to shoot down the North Korean rocket.
Regional countries suspect North Korea may launch a long-range missile under the cloak of a satellite launch. Officials say the technologies involved in launching a missile and a satellite are virtually the same.
Earlier this week, the North's military warned that any foreign attempt to shoot down the rocket would lead to a war on the Korean Peninsula, insisting it has the full right to peaceful space development.
I suppose that these two coordinates are where first and second stage booster rockets would fall. The following diagram shows the locations.
From Yonhap News:
Ping!
Chicago?......................
IOW the UN is going to provide cover for NK to develop its weapons delivery infrastructure and there is nothing we can do about that because we are treaty signatories too.
Iran take note. This is how it's done.
Weekend of opening day for baseball?????
How delightful will be the reaction of the Obama supporters on the West Coast to one of those ‘imaginary’ Bush threats landing in their backyard (Unfortunately, I’ll witness it firsthand.).
Reached for comment, aides to Barack Obama said that the Present_ent would be drafting a strongly worded letter to Kim Jong-il just as soon as he gets done finding something nice for visiting South American dignitaries at Dollar Tree.
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