North Korea to test long-range rocket soon

11 years ago | Posted in: Technology | 490 Views

NORTH Korea says it will launch a long-range rocket between December 10 and 22, a move likely to heighten already strained relations with the US and South Korea, where a presidential election will be held on December 19.

This would be North Korea’s second launch attempt under leader Kim Jong Un, who took power after his father Kim Jong Il’s death nearly a year ago.

The announcement comes several weeks after US President Barack Obama was elected to a second term and before his public inauguration on January 21.

Washington considers North Korea’s rocket tests to be veiled covers for tests of long-range missile technology banned by the United Nations.

An unnamed spokesman for the Korean Committee for Space Technology said North Korea had “analysed the mistakes” made in a failed April launch and improved the precision of the rocket and satellite, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

The April launch broke up shortly after lift-off, but quickly drew condemnation from the UN, Washington, Seoul and other capitals.

North Korea’s statement said a rocket carrying a polar-orbiting Earth observation satellite will blast off southward from its northwest coastal space centre.

The US has criticised North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles as a threat to Asian and world security.

Under its young leader North Korea has pledged to bolster its nuclear arsenal unless Washington scraps what Pyongyang calls a hostile policy.

ref: http://www.news.com.au

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