Global General

Special

Newsmaker

Asia Pacific

America

Middle East

Europe

Africa

Russia confirms DPRK satellite launch

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-05 11:57

MOSCOW -- Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) launched a satellite earlier in the day.

"The DPRK sent an artificial satellite into an earth orbit on the morning of April 5," ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

Russia urges all the states concerned to "show restraint in judgments and actions in the current situation," Nesterenko said.

The DPRK's official media reported earlier that it successfully launched a rocket carrying the "Kwangmyongsong-2" communications satellite, which entered orbit about 10 minutes after launch.