N Korean rocket to adopt 'safe' flight path

A rocket that Pyongyang plans to launch next month will take a "safer" flight path compared to previous launches that strayed into Japanese airspace, a North Korean scientist said. Pyongyang announced Friday it would launch the rocket between April 12-16 to put a satellite into orbit, just 16 days after it agreed to suspend long-range missile tests in return for US food aid. The new flight orbit showcased the country's advancing "technological prowess" and "economic power", Professor Ko Yong-Hae from the Kim Il-Sung University wrote in the North's Rodong Sinmun daily published Saturday. In an article headlined "We will conquer space like this" Ko said a "safe flight orbit has been chosen so that carrier rocket debris to be generated during the flight would not have any impact on neighbouring countries." "This means that we've already resolved the thorniest scientific and technical problems that arise in putting satellites in orbit. No matter which directions we launch our rockets, we are able to put them precisely in orbit." Pyongyang said the launch would mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of founding president Kim Il-Sung. The announcement sparked condemnation from South Korea and triggered alarm in Japan which was under the flight path of previous rocket launches. In 2009, Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket over Japan in what it claimed at the time was an attempt to get a satellite into orbit. Tokyo and its allies said it was a ballistic missile test. The US State Department said the latest "highly provocative" launch would breach a UN ban imposed after previous launches.