North Korea has placed a 3-stage rocket at the launch pad at a brand new, more sophisticated facility facing the Yellow Sea. It plans to launch what it calls an earth observation satellite as early as Thursday. There also are indications the reclusive and impoverished country is preparing for a 3rd nuclear weapons test, besides.
Satellite imagery, taken last week, shows piles of dirt near a newly excavated tunnel entrance at North Korea's nuclear test site. A summary of a South Korean intelligence report accompanying the photos, obtained by VOA says the excavation on the Punggye-ri test site is in its final stages.
Analysts say Pyongyang desires to demonstrate to the area that it's in a position to conducting a nuclear test at any time.
Meanwhile, North Korea, at a separate site, has put on the launch pad what it's calling the Unha-3 rocket. Apparently virtually just like the 3-stage liquid-fueled ballistic missile it fired over Japan three years ago.
The U.s., South Korea, the ecu Union and Japan are condemning the planned launch, saying it'll clearly violate United Nations sanctions forbidding Pyongyang from utilizing ballistic missile technology.
Jang Myong Jin, the overall manager of the launch site, says North Korea has a sovereign right to hold out an area launch.
Speaking to correspondents taken to the launch site, Jang says, in recent talks between his government and U.S. officials, North Korea made clear that its moratorium pledge applied to long range missiles, but not satellites.
Senior research fellow Baek Seung-joo, on the Korea Institute for protection Analysis in Seoul, says Pyongyang's scientists have had a whole lot of time since their last try to put a satellite into space to greatly improve their ballistic missile capabilities.
Baek says North Korea, in the meanwhile, has likely exchanged technology with Iran which has made three successful satellite launches. And, Baek says, the North Korean engineers appear to have a high level of confidence their third attempt will succeed.
Additional international sanctions were imposed on North Korea following its second missile launch and nuclear test in 2009.
VOAGraphic of projected trajectory of North Korea missile.From WhatNewsToday.net
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