Lee, Ban criticize N. Korea's rocket plan SEOUL, March 24 (UPI) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern Saturday about North Korea's plan to launch a long-range rocket. Ban arrived in Seoul Saturday ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, and met with Lee, Yonhap News Agency reported. Lee and Ban agreed to work together in responding to the North's plan to launch a long-range rocket in April to put an observation satellite in orbit. South Korea has said the North is using the launch to conduct a banned missile test as a step toward developing a long-distance delivery means for nuclear weapons. "President Lee and Secretary-General Ban shared an understanding that North Korea's announcement of a long-range rocket launch plan represents a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a grave provocation against the international community, and expressed concerns about this," Lee's office said in a statement. The statement also said Lee appreciated Ban's urging the North to scrap the rocket plan. Yonhap said Ban, a South Korea native, told Lee: "It is of great meaning that the Nuclear Security Summit takes place in Seoul as nuclear terrorism has emerged as a global issue and interest in nuclear safety runs high. As a Korean-born U.N. secretary-general, I take pride in that this is taking place in Seoul. A world without nuclear weapons is one of the mottoes of the United Nations. Ban also agreed to Lee's request for U.N. cooperation in improving human rights in the North.