North Korean leader orders more rocket launches

PanARMENIAN.Net - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised scientists involved in the country's recent rocket launch that he said struck a "telling blow" to enemies and ordered them to press ahead with more launches, state media reported Monday, Feb 15, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier this month, North Korea ignored repeated international warnings and launched what it said was an Earth observation satellite aboard a rocket. Washington, Seoul and other view the launch as a prohibited test of missile technology and are pushing hard to have Pyongyang slapped with strong sanctions.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the ruling Workers' Party on Saturday gave a banquet in honor of scientists, officials and others who it said contributed to the Feb 7 rocket launch. Kim and his top deputies were present.

In a speech, Kim said the launch gave confidence and courage to his people and dealt a "telling blow to the enemies seeking to block the advance of our country," KCNA said, in an apparent reference to Seoul and Washington.

Kim said the North's launch decision was made when "the hostile forces were getting evermore frantic to suffocate" North Korea, and called for launching more working satellites in the future.

The launch, which followed the North's fourth nuclear test last month, aggravated already-strained ties between the rival Koreas. Last week, Pyongyang expelled all South Korean workers from a jointly run factory park in the North and put the area in charge of the military in retaliation for Seoul's decision to suspend operations there.

Seoul on Sunday accused North Korea of having channeled about 70 percent of the money it received for workers at the Kaesong park into its weapons programs and to buy luxury goods for the impoverished nation's tiny elite.