North Korea’s rocket launch last Sunday has far-reaching ramifications with the UN Security Council immediately adopting a statement strongly condemning the provocative move.

Seoul and Washington initiated official talks over the possible deployment of a U.S. antiballistic missile system on the Korean Peninsula, but China and Russia are expressing opposition to the move.

There is concern that the North’s missile launch, which came on the heels of the regime’s fourth nuclear test last month, will turn the Korean Peninsula into the battleground of a new Cold War with South Korea, the U.S. and Japan on one side and North Korea, China, and Russia on the other.

The North’s official Korean Central Television said in a special announcement on February 7 that the country launched the rocket at the Dongchang-ri launch site on the day.



The North claimed the Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite, which it said was successfully placed into orbit, is to observe the earth for scientific purposes.

Regardless of its real intention it breaches the UN Security Council resolutions, which ban the regime from testing technology related to long-range ballistic missiles.

On February 7, the UN Security Council adopted a statement sternly denouncing the North's missile launch, accusing the North of attempting to further its nuclear weapons delivery system.

While stressing that the missile launch came as the council was already discussing sanctions following the North's nuclear test last month, all members agreed on the need to adopt a new resolution "in line with this commitment and the gravity of this most recent violation."

Seoul and Washington also moved quickly to penalize the North for the missile launch. Hours after the North’s missile launch, the two allies announced that they are beginning discussions on the issue of deploying the U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea is building its own missile defense system, such as the Kill Chain and the Korean Air and Missile Defense. However, local experts say that they are not good enough to deal with missiles flying at high altitudes and need to be supplemented by the THAAD, which detects and intercepts ballistic missiles at 40 to 150 kilometers midair.

China and Russia, however, are opposed to the deployment of THAAD in South Korea, because the high-performance X-Band radar of THAAD could expose their strategic missiles.

That could make it difficult for the international community to draw strong sanctions against the North, given that China and Russia are two of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council.