US, Japan warn N.Korea on missile

"Any kind of missile launch of any kind is of great concern and would be a violation, in our view, of UN Security Council resolutions," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters AFP reported.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka discussed North Korea's plans in a telephone call and "affirmed the importance" of their two nations' alliance in defending Japan.

Tanaka and Panetta "reiterated their view that such a missile launch would directly violate North Korea's international obligations," a Pentagon statement said.

North Korea has said that it will launch a "satellite" between April 12 and 16 as it holds "unprecedented" celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the regime's founder Kim Il-Sung.

The communist state announced the plans despite agreeing on February 29 to freeze its nuclear and missile programs as part of a deal under which the United States would deliver badly needed food aid.