DPRK's rocket launch 'unacceptable': Japan gov't
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E-mail Xinhua, December 12, 2012
A Japanese government spokesman said Wednesday that the rocket launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is "unacceptable."
Japan strongly condemned the launch, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura at a press conference.
The Japanese government said it will convene a Security Council meeting at 10:50 a.m. local time on the rocket launch.
It said earlier that the DPRK launched its rocket at 9:49 a.m. and the rocket has passed Japan's Okinawa at around 10:01. No debris fell into Japan's territory.
The rocket is believed to have gone down into waters off the Philippines at 10:05 and part of it has fallen into the Yellow Sea.
Japan did not issue destroy order when the rocket flew over Okinawa and the Self-Defense Forces in the prefecture did not launch their missile interceptors.
The DPRK announced on Monday that it extended the launch window to Dec. 29, saying the launch will be readjusted for some reasons. The launch was originally planned to be carried out between Dec. 10 and 22 from 7 a.m. to noon.
The DPRK said the rocket is to put a satellite into orbit. However, some countries considered that the launch is DPRK's test for long-range ballistic missile.
