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Russia warns against dramatizing DPRK's satellite launch

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-18 10:18

MOSCOW -- A senior Russian diplomat said on Tuesday that the upcoming launch of a Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) satellite should not be overdramatized.

Related readings:  DPRK premier begins China visit  ROK envoy urges DPRK to refrain from launch  DPRK reopens border for South Korean workers  Japan, ROK warn DPRK on missile launch

"The world community should carefully weigh all circumstances of the satellite launch due in early April and to refrain from fanning panic," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry's special envoy Grigory Loginov as saying.

"It is not worth hurrying, but the situation is a no simple one," said Loginov, Russia's ambassador-at-large on the Korean Peninsula issue.

Pyongyang said on Feb. 24 that it plans to launch a communications satellite as part of its peaceful space program. But the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have voiced suspicions that it will be a cover for the test-firing of along-range ballistic missile.