Russia "strongly calls" on N.Korea to refrain from planned rocket launch

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia strongly called on North Korea on Thursday to refrain from a planned rocket launch this month, saying such actions could further escalate tension in Northeast Asia, Russia's Foreign Ministry said. The message was personally conveyed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov to North Korea's ambassador to Russia, Kim Jong-un, it said. Pyongyang notified U.N. agencies on Tuesday of its plan to launch what it called an "earth observation satellite" some time between Feb. 8 and 25. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov)