Brazil condemns North Korea's satellite launch

Brazil subscribed to the statement released by the United Nations Security Council condemning North Korea's long-range satellite launch—a measure sharply criticized by the international community, which views it as a secret missile test.

In a note issued Sunday (Feb. 7), Brazil's Foreign Affairs Ministry says it deplores the North Korean government's decision to launch a satellite with the use of ballistic missile technology, which violates the Security Council's resolutions.

“The Brazilian government urges the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to abstain from acts which harm the path of dialogue and diplomatic negotiations. It also calls on Pyongyang to resume talks with China, Russia, South Korea, Japan, and the US on its use of nuclear weapons, rejoin the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a country not armed with nuclear weapons and to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty,” the note reads.

In response to the international criticism, the North Korean government guaranteed that the launch of an Earth observation satellite is part of a strictly scientific space program. The announcement of the space launch by North Korea was made less than a month after North Korean authorities declared they tested a miniature nuclear hydrogen bomb, whose effect are far greater than that of a uranium bomb.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira