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DPRK launches long-range rocket in defiance of warnings: Abe

Xinhua, February 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed Sunday morning that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had launched a rocket from a site in Pyongyang.

The launch defied international warnings and Japan has maintained that such a launch would be in clear violation of U.N. resolutions.

The DPRK had said it plans to launch an earth observation satellite, but Japan and the U.S., among other nations, believe the launch was a test of a long-range ballistic missile.

The DPRK is banned from test-firing any rockets based on a ballistic missile technology under UN Security Council resolutions.

It is the first time since December 2012 that the DPRK has conducted such a test. Enditem