The Democratic People”s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has again closed a vast area off its eastern coast to navigation, reporting for the first time that such a measure is being taken in view of the forthcoming military exercises.
A zone, 450 km long and 110 km wide in the area of port Wonsan will be closed to navigation from June 25 to July 10, Japan”a Maritime Safety Agency (MSA), which performs border guarding functions, has reported. For its part, the MSA received a respective notification from the North Korean side by e-mail. The ban on navigaiton in the zone will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m..
This time Pyongyang closes a wider area tonavigation than previously was the case. Earlier forbidden zones off the DPRK coast had been declared on June 8 and 18.
On April 5 Pyongyang had launched a long-range rocket from a test site in the country”s north-eastern extremity. The rocket had lost the its first acceleration stage in the open waters of the Sea of Japan (East Sea). The second and third stages of the rocket had flown across Japan, splashing down into the open waters of the Pacific Ocean upon covering a distance of approximately 3,200 km.
On May 25, the DPRK carried out a second nuclear test and at the same time launched several short-range rockets of various types.
It is reported that Pyongyang currently prepares for the launch of a new long-range rocket, possibly that of intercontinental class.
