N. Korea readies rocket for liftoff

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s positioning of a rocket on its east coast launchpad ratcheted up tensions Thursday with Washington, which warned that pushing ahead with the April launch would violate a U.N. ban and have serious consequences.

Pyongyang says the rocket is designed to carry its Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite into orbit, an accomplishment timed for the eve of the inaugural session of North Korea’s new parliament and for late founder Kim Il Sung’s April 15 birthday.

But regional powers suspect the North will use the launch to test the delivery technology for a long-range missile, one capable of striking Alaska, or may even test-fire the intercontinental Taepodong-2 missile itself. Keeping speculation about the payload alive, North Korea reportedly has kept the top of the rocket covered.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Thursday reiterated comments made a day earlier by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that any rocket launch would be “provocative” and violate Security Council resolutions.

Clinton warned that the launch could jeopardize the stalled talks on supplying North Korea with aid and other concessions in exchange for dismantling its nuclear program. The U.N. Security Council banned North Korea from any ballistic activity in 2006.

North Korea responded by threatening “strong steps” if the Security Council so much as criticizes the launch, and suggested it will reverse nuclear disablement carried out so far if sanctions are levied. Any challenge to its satellite launch would mean an immediate nullification of disarmament agreements, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried late Thursday by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The diplomatic tussle puts North Korea right where it wants to be: at the center of Washington’s attention, analysts said.

“This action is something that cannot be ignored. ... This is a way to get attention from the U.S. and the Obama administration,” said Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank.

Analysts say Pyongyang is angling to establish direct relations with President Barack Obama’s White House in hopes of circumventing the international disarmament talks that require the North to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for much-needed aid.

Complicating the diplomacy is the detention of two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling of former Vice President Al Gore’s online media venture Current TV, for allegedly crossing into North Korea illegally from China last week.

North Korea could use the Americans as bargaining chips, said North Korea expert Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University. He called their detention an “unexpected gift” for Pyongyang, giving the regime added leverage in its push for direct talks with Washington.