North Korea told an international organization it will fire a satellite into space between April 4-8, South Korea said Thursday, giving a time frame for a launch that neighboring governments suspect will test missile technology, according to AP. An official at South Korea's Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Thursday that officials confirmed with the International Maritime Organization that the North had informed the organization of its schedule for the launch. Do Myung-hwan, the official, said North Korea also notified the IMO that the launch will be made in an easterly direction. The London-based IMO could not immediately be reached as it had yet to open for business Thursday. South Korea, Japan and the United States believe the launch will test missile technology in violation of a 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution banning Pyongyang from ballistic missile activity, and have urged the North not to go forward. Separately, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said earlier that the country has informed the IMO as well as the International Civil Aviation Organization and others «of necessary information for the safe navigation of planes and ships» amid preparations for the launch. That dispatch did not say when a launch would take place, but South Korea cited the dates April 4-8, confirming a report by Yonhap news agency.
