National defense officials of South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold a video conference
this week to discuss their joint response to the North's imminent long-range missile, a government official here said Thursday.
   The video conference will be held early on Friday with working-level national defense officials from the three countries on hand, the official said on condition of anonymity.
   The move comes after North Korea recently notified U.N. agencies that it will launch what it calls an "earth observation satellite" sometime between Feb. 8 and 25.
   North Korea has claimed it has the sovereign right to launch "a series of satellites for peaceful purposes." But Seoul and Washington view the North's move as cover for ballistic missile tests. (Yonhap)