New York, Rabi'II 24, 1437, Feb 3, 2016, SPA -- South Korea and Japan said Wednesday that North Korea should abandon its plan to fire a rocket into space, after Pyongyang told UN agencies that it would carry out a satellite launch later this month, dpa reported. The launch would be a "challenge" to the international community, said Cho Tae Yong, deputy chief of the presidential office of national security in South Korea, according to Yonhap News Agency. Japan's Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said the rocket was projected to fly near the south-western island of Okinawa and its neighbouring islands. He had ordered the military to shoot down the North Korean missile if it threatened Japan's territory, using a missile interceptor system. --SPA 12:25 LOCAL TIME 09:25 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w