South Korea warns it might shoot down North Korean rocket

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Seoul warned Monday that it might shoot down parts of a North Korean rocket that violate South Korean territory, as worries about what Washington calls a long-range missile test overshadowed an international nuclear security summit.

Nearly 60 world leaders gathered Monday in Seoul to talk about ways to keep nuclear material out of the hands of terrorists. But North Korea has dominated attention in Northeast Asia since announcing earlier this month that it would send a satellite into space aboard a long-range rocket.

North Korea calls the launch part of its peaceful space program and says a new southerly flight path is meant to avoid other countries; previous rockets have been fired over Japan. Washington and Seoul, however, say the multistage rocket is meant to test delivery systems for long-range missiles that could be mounted with nuclear weapons.

"We are studying measures such as tracking and shooting down (parts) of a North Korean missile in case they stray out of their normal trajectory" and violate South Korean territory, said Yoon Won-shik, a vice spokesman at the Defense Ministry.

"We cannot help viewing (the launch) as a very reckless, provocative act" that undermines peace on the Korean peninsula, he said. Read More