Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have condemned Pyongyang’s decision to launch a long-range rocket this month, after North Korea notified UN agencies of the plan.

Reports emerged on Tuesday that North Korea had told the International Maritime Organization it would launch a satellite between February 8 and 25, as well as sending a report to the International Telecommunication Union that was less specific on timing. Governments are obliged to provide such warnings to minimise the risk to international air and sea traffic.

The news comes as the UN Security Council considers how to respond to Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test last month. It condemned two previous satellite launches in 2012 as a breach of resolutions imposed following Pyongyang’s first nuclear test in 2006, which block it from “any launch that uses ballistic missile technology, even if characterised as a satellite launch”.