The government of North Korea has sent a shipping warning to the International Maritime Organization confirming its intention to launch a long-range rocket carrying Earth observation satellite between Feb. 8 and 25.

The agency said Tuesday, Feb. 2, that it had received the North Korea's notification about the plan of launching a multistage rocket between 7 a.m. and noon. Natasha Brown, the agency spokeswoman, described North Korea's payload as an Earth observation satellite with a name Kwangmyongsong which means Lordestar.

CBS News reported that if the launch goes as planned, the first stage of the rocket will fall in the west coast of South Korea while the second stage in the eastern sea of the Philippines.

North Korea says that the launch's goal is to put the Kwangmyongsong satellite into the Earth's orbit but others interpret the move as a "destabilizing provocation" and a front for a missile test especially that the launch is scheduled just a month after the country's underground nuclear test. In fact, U.S. officials have stated that the same type of rocket which will be used by North Korea is the same rocket which could someday be used to fire off a miniaturized nuclear warhead with a long-range missile.

Japan, South Korea and United States have expressed their opposition to North Korea's plan to launch saying that the launch could be a step for a developing an intercontinental missile that can be used to create a nuclear bomb. According to them, such a move also violates the United Nations Security Council's rules of prohibiting North Korea in creating weapons for mass destruction such as missiles and nuclear weapons dated Dec. 2012.

Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister, told parliament Wednesday, Feb. 03, 2016: "If North Korea goes ahead and launches the rocket, it would clearly violate UN Security Council resolutions and pose a serious provocation."

John Kirby, the State Department spokesman, also said in an interview: "This latest announcement further underscores the need for the international community to send the North a swift, firm message that its disregard -- that their disregard for U.N. Security Council obligations will not be tolerated."

As reported by The Guardian, South Korea has urged Pyongyang not to pursue the launch on Wednesday describing the launch as a "grave threat" to world security and peace.

"North Korea must immediately drop its plan to launch, paying heed to the fact that any launch using ballistic technology is in breach of UN resolutions," the report stated.

Meanwhile, the government officials of North Korea have yet to comment about the details of their plan.