WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — North Korea has notified the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of its plan to launch a satellite between February 8 and February 25.
"[T]he leaders emphasized the importance of a strong and united international response to North Korea's provocations," the White House said following a phone discussion between Obama and Xi.
US President Barack Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping agreed in a phone conversation that the ballistic missile test allegedly planned by North Korea would violate UN Security Council resolutions, the White House said in a press release on Friday.
"They [Obama, Xi] agreed that North Korea's planned ballistic missile test would contravene multiple UN Security Council resolutions and represent another provocative and destabilizing action," the press release stated.
South Korea said Seoul would view any satellite launches by Pyongyang as a ballistic missile test, while Japan began deploying its missile launchers near the expected flight path of what both deem to be a ballistic missile.
North Korea previously reported a successful satellite launch in 2012, in violation of a UN Security Council resolution. The resolution bans Pyongyang from launching rockets that may be used as long-range ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads.
