North Korea’s launch declaration came just weeks after it claimed to have conducted its fourth nuclear test. Outside experts and officials say that each nuclear test and long-range missile launch brings the North closer to creating a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on an intercontinental missile capable of reaching targets as far as the US West Coast.
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The updated notice sent by Pyongyang offered no reason for the date change which means the launch would now take place before the February 16 birthday of late leader Kim Jong-Il, the father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.
“The Seoul government believes that (North Korea) completed its launch preparation, such as fueling the rocket after erecting it on a launch pad after considering various circumstances”, said another defense ministry official. It is not yet clear if a rocket is on the launch pad. The areas where debris would fall remain unchanged.
North Korea has announced it will be firing a rocket into orbit next week – moving up a launch originally planned for later this month. The launch period has also been reduced to end February 14, the ministry said.
Ahead of the notification, the U.S. Pacific Command called on North Korea to refrain from “irresponsible provocations”, responding to its move to fire a long-range rocket.
During a 45-minute phone call, “President Park stressed strong and effective resolutions that could force North Korea to change its course must be adopted at the UN Security Council this time”, the presidential Blue House said in a press statement.
United Nations sanctions prohibit North Korea from any launch using ballistic missile technology.
“We are aware of North Korea’s announcement of their rocket launch and are closely monitoring the situation”.
North Korea claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb in early January.
The report from 38 North, a project run by the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, said activity could also be seen around a building at the site used in the past to receive and assemble rocket stages.
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Seoul’s Defense Ministry said that South Korea and the USA, which stations more than 28,000 troops in the South as a buttress against any North Korean aggression, are deploying key military assets, including the South’s Aegis-equipped destroyers and radar spy planes, to track the North Korean rocket after its launch.
