朝鮮拒絕放棄導彈發射火箭

North Korea's nuclear envoy says Pyongyang will still proceed with this month's scheduled rocket launch, despite lengthy meetings with U.S. officials in Germany this week. Ri Gun arrived in the Chinese capital city Tuesday from Germany, as international tensions increase over the planned launch.

Pyongyang says the launch is aimed to place a weather satellite in orbit, but the U.S., South Korea and other nations believe the North will test a long-range missile. Ri Gun says the two sides had a "natural, in-depth" discussion, but says the North still has the right to carry out the launch. Pyongyang says it will launch the satellite to mark the upcoming 100th birthday of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.朝鮮核問題特使李根說，儘管本週與美國官員在德國進行了長時間的會談，平壤方面仍將進行本月的火箭發射計劃。李根星期二從德國抵達北京，朝鮮的發射計劃正引發國際有關方面的高度緊張。

朝鮮說，發射的目的是將一枚氣象衛星送入軌道，但是美國、韓國等國家認爲，朝鮮將試驗一枚遠程導彈。李根說，美朝雙方進行了一次“自然、深入”的探討，但是他表示，朝鮮仍有權進行這次發射。朝鮮說，發射衛星是爲了慶祝朝鮮開國領導人金日成即將到來的百年誕辰。