The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has informed South Korea that it will temporarily close two air routes between April 4-8 in preparation for a satellite launch, local media reported in Seoul today.

According to South Korea's Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime, the DPRK's Air Route Traffic Control Center informed its South Korean counterpart yesterday of the planned closure and attributed the closure to DPRK's satellite launch plan.

The DPRK will close only the Pyongyang-monitored parts of the two routes, R452 and G346 from 11:00 am(0200 GMT) on April 4 to 4:00 pm(0700 GMT) on April 8, the ministry said.

The R452 is a route between DPRK and Russia's Vladivostok, while the R346 is between DPRK and Japan, said South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

There are no South Korean airliners currently using the two routes, the ministry said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2009)