WASHINGTON (AP) -- New satellite imagery appears to show preparations beginning for a long-range rocket launch in North Korea despite international objections.The image from a privately operated satellite was taken Wednesday at the Tongchang-ri site, where North Korea says it plans to launch the rocket between April 12 and 16. An analysis conducted for the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies says the image shows trucks and fuel tanks outside two large buildings that would be used to store propellant for the rocket. It also shows work under way at a gantry tower next to a mobile launch pad, with a crane being used to load equipment. The rocket itself is not yet visible.
"The image shows not only that the launch is going ahead but the preparations seem to be on schedule for the planned launch dates," said Joel Wit, visiting fellow at the institute and editor of its website on North Korea, "38 North."
North Korea says the launch is to fire an observation satellite into orbit and mark the centennial of the birth of the nation's founder, Kim Il Sung. The U.S. says it is a cover to test long-range missile technology and violates U.N. Security Council resolutions. Read More
