Seoul: North Korea steps up preparations for missile launch

Feb 27, 2009, 13:29 GMT

Seoul - North Korea has begun to test radar and other equipment in preparation for launching what it claims to be a satellite, South Korean media reports said Friday.

Increased activity was reported from the Musudan-ri missile launch site in the north-east of the communist state as North Korea moves closer to what South Korea claims is an attempt to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Work to assemble a missile has started and could be completed within one week, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, quoting 'informed sources.'

North Korea appears to have moved one of its Taepodong-2 long-range missiles, which is believed to be capable of striking Alaska, to the launch site and began assembling radar and other monitoring equipment, an analysis of satellite images showed, a Defence Ministry official said.

After weeks of speculation over a possible missile launch, Pyongyang on Tuesday said it was preparing to shoot a communications satellite into orbit, but it remained unclear when the launch was to take place.

Analysts said they believe North Korea intends to mask plans for a missile test as a satellite launch to avoid international sanctions. Pyongyang's missile development, together with its nuclear weapons programme, is widely regarded as a threat to stability in the region.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Thursday that special envoy for North Korea Stephen Bosworth was to travel to Asia next week. His discussions with officials in China, Japan, South Korea as well as Russia will focus on the future policy in the dispute over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

The six-party talks on the issue stalled in December over North Korea's refusal to allow verification procedures for its nuclear disarmament.

According to media reports, Bosworth did not rule out a side trip to North Korea to meet with the Pyongyang regime. Clinton named Bosworth, a former US ambassador to Seoul, a special envoy for North Korea last week.

Government officials in Seoul said this week that they expected the launch before March 8 elections to select members of North Korea's parliament, where hand-picked candidates are selected to rubber-stamp government decisions.