North Korea on Wednesday notified at least two UN agencies of a forthcoming satellite launch, in a move likely to draw strong criticism from Seoul and Washington, D.C.

The notification, issued to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU), said that Pyongyang would launch an “earth observation satellite” sometime from February 8-25.

Coming less than a month after Pyongyang’s widely condemned January 6 nuclear test, and amid an increased push for responding sanctions at the UN Security Council, the development has not been unexpected.

The birthday of Kim Jong Il – father of current North Korean leader Kim