N Korea Has No Intention of Quitting Satellite Launch

A South Korean activist burns a flag and portraits of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un during a rally in Seoul, South Korea, 24 March 2012, against North Korea`s planned rocket launch. EPA/BGNES

North Korea's government has announced that it will carry out a satellite launch in April as planned, despite warnings on behalf of US President Barack Obama and other international leaders.

Pyongyang ""will not give up the satellite launch for peaceful purposes, which is a legitimate right of a sovereign state and requirement essential for economic development," the country's official Korean Central News Agency declared on Tuesday.

According to the Agency's statement, the US wrongfully regards the launch of a satellite for peaceful purposes as a launch of long-range missile.

The North Korean regime moved a long-range rocket it plans to test fire to a launch pad Monday, CNN has reported, citing a South Korean Defense Ministry official.

On March 16, North Korea announced that its 'Unha-3' rocket carrying the 'Kwangmyongsong-3' satellite will blast off from its satellite launching station in western North Korea between April 12 and April 16 2012.

The US, Russia, South Korea and Japan have all condemned the planned launch, saying it violates a UN ban on all North Korean launches using ballistic missile technology.