S. Korean politicians urge DPRK to drop rocket launch plan

South Korean politicians on Wednesday called for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to drop its rocket launch plan.

Won Yoo-Cheol, floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, told a party meeting that the DPRK is challenging the international society in about a month after its fourth nuclear test violating the U.N. Security Council resolutions.

He urged the South Korean government to closely monitor signs of the DPRK's rocket launch and to make utmost efforts in discouraging Pyongyang from conducting "further provocations."

The main opposition Minjoo Party also called on the DPRK to immediately stop a plan for "provocative acts," saying that the pre-announcement of the launch was in clear violation of U.N. resolutions that causes harsh criticisms and sanctions from the international society.

The bipartisan calls came amid surging tensions on the Korean peninsula after Pyongyang's claim on Jan. 6 that it had tested its first H-bomb, the fourth in total of its nuclear detonations.

The DPRK on Tuesday informed international organizations of its plan to put an earth observation satellite, called Kwangmyongsong, into orbit between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25, triggering harsh criticisms from its neighbors.

Under U.N. Security Council resolutions, the DPRK is banned from launching any rocket by using its ballistic missile technology. Enditem