SPECULATION WAS mounting yesterday that North Korea could be preparing to launch a long-range missile, described by the regime as an “experimental satellite”, in defiance of American warnings not to cause instability in the region. The US has repeatedly urged the North Korean regime to abandon the launch and return to negotiations on its nuclear weapons programme.
South Korean satellite images appeared to show preparations starting for the launch of what analysts believe to be a Taepodong-2 missile. The pictures are of a site in the province of North Hamgyong, on the northeast coast.
North Korea has been eager to prove the missile’s capabilities following the failure, after less than a minute, of a test launch in 2006.
The KCNA news agency, North Korea’s official mouthpiece, said the hardware was a communications satellite and part of the country’s space programme: “The preparations for launching an experimental communications satellite are now making brisk headway.”
A successful launch of a Taepodong-2 would raise anxiety in the US. The missile, with a maximum range of 6,000km, is capable of striking Alaska and Hawaii.