N. Korea likely to go ahead with rocket launch in Dec

PanARMENIAN.Net - North Korea is moving a new rocket component to its missile test site to replace a faulty stage that has delayed its planned launch of a long range rocket and is likely to still go ahead with a launch in December, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday, December 10, according to Reuters.

North Korea's state media announced at the weekend that the launch of the rocket carrying what it called a scientific satellite may have to be delayed without disclosing the reasons.

A trailer carrying a new third stage rocket was seen by satellite on Saturday being moved from a missile plant in Pyongyang to the Tongchang-ri missile launch site, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted a government source as saying.

The North is believed to be developing an intercontinental missile with a range of more than 6,700 km which would have the capacity to hit the continental United States, a move that would dramatically increase its diplomatic clout.

North Korea has said it would launch a rocket to put a working satellite into space between December 10 and 22 from its test ground located in the western region near its border with China.

Analysts said the timing was picked to mark the first anniversary of the death of the North's former leader Kim Jong-il, although it also coincides with elections in South Korea and Japan.

The planned launch has been condemned by South Korea, Japan and the United States, all of which call it a disguised test of a long-range missile being developed to carry nuclear arsenal.