The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) last Thursday castigated South Korea's concerns over its impending satellite launch.

The launch was "the DPRK's sovereign right universally recognized which does not allow mere puppets to take issue with it," a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea told the official KCNA news in response to South Korean officials' remarks concerning the launch. The DPRK said last Tuesday it will test-fire a communications satellite. This promise has raised concerns among neighboring powers and the U.S. that the launch is actually a test of a long-range ballistic missile that could strike American territory. South Korean officials said the launch, no matter the payload, would violate UN resolutions.

The DPRK spokesman said whether the payload would be a satellite or not, "they will come to know when watching what will soar in the air in the days ahead." The DPRK, seemingly, isn't afraid of any sanctions that might follow the launch, the spokesman said, adding the nation was "ready for everything." The DPRK says it put an experimental satellite "Kwangmyongsong-1" into orbit in August 1998. But the United States alleged it was a "Taepodong-1" missile test launch.

(Source: Xinhua News Agency)