(Reuters) – North Korean students participate in an outdoor dancing event in Pyongyang on Monday (February 8) to celebrate the country’s controversial rocket launch.
State-run television KRT showed video of thousands of students, some dressed in traditional Korean clothes, dancing in Kim Il Sung square despite the snow.
North Korea on Sunday (February 7) said the launch of the satellite Kwangmyongsong-4, named after late leader Kim Jong Il, was a “complete success” and that it was making a polar orbit of Earth every 94 minutes. The launch order was given by his son, leader Kim Jong Un, who is believed to be 33 years old.
“Successful launch of Kwangmyongsong-4 is a stirring event which is an assertion of autonomy and legitimate rights of sovereign country,” an unidentified North Korean said.
“Today, dignity and pride run deep in my mind seeing how great my dignified country that excels in science is,” another unidentified North Korean added.
The rocked launch has renewed international condemnation just weeks after North Korea carried out a nuclear bomb test.
Critics of the rocket programme say it is being used to test technology for a long-range missile.
The Pentagon confirmed on Monday that it will start formal talks with South Korea on deploying an advanced missile defence system to South Korea to counter the growing threat of North Korea’s weapons capabilities.