OTTAWA: Canada's top diplomat on Tuesday warned North Korea not to carry out a planned rocket launch, calling it a "provocation" and a "threat to regional peace and security."
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird made the comments as South Korea's Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik is visiting Ottawa this week to discuss trade and security with his Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper.
"We are extremely concerned about North Korea's plan to test a long-range ballistic missile," Baird said in a statement.
"Canada strongly warns North Korea against this provocation, which clearly violates its obligations under successive UN Security Council resolutions and constitutes a threat to regional peace and security."
"While the North Korean people struggle to find the basic necessities to survive, their government has turned a blind eye to their plight and instead chooses to advance its military capability. This is regrettable and completely unacceptable."
Pyongyang announced on Saturday that it intends to launch a long-range rocket between December 10 and 22.
The United States and its key Asian allies South Korea and Japan have condemned the move as a disguised ballistic missile test that violates UN resolutions triggered by Pyongyang's two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.
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