Russia's Foreign Ministry Wednesday said it was greatly concerned about a plan of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to launch a satellite later this month.

"We have to state that by intending to violate the requirements of the UN Security Council once again, the DPRK shows defiant disregard of the universally recognized norms of international law," an online Foreign Ministry statement said.

The statement added that Russia called on the DPRK to seriously consider the consequences of openly acting in opposition to the international community and "to assess realistically the full costs of such short-sighted moves."

A UN spokesperson said Tuesday that three UN organizations have been informed by the DPRK of its plans to launch an Earth-observation satellite between Feb. 8 and 25.

South Korea and Japan condemned this plan Wednesday on suspicion that Pyongyang was in fact intending to test a long-range ballistic missile.

Also on Wednesday, China expressed its serious concern about the plan and said it hoped the DPRK would exercise restraint and deal with the issue prudently so as to avoid a possible escalation of tension.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the DPRK is entitled to the peaceful use of outer space, yet this right is restricted by relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. Endi

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