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Satellite pic shows increased activity at NK launch station
Source: Agencies |
November 28, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A NEW satellite image shows a marked increase in activity at a North Korean missile launch site, pointing to a possible long-range ballistic missile test by Pyongyang in the next three weeks, according to satellite operator DigitalGlobe Inc.
The imagery was released days after a Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, reported US intelligence analysts had detected moves seen as preparation by North Korea for a long-range missile launch as early as this month.
DigitalGlobe, which provides commercial satellite imagery to the US government and foreign governments, on Monday released a new image it said showed increased activity at North Korea's Sohae (West Sea) Satellite Launch Station.
It said the imagery showed more people, trucks and other equipment at the site, a level of activity that was consistent with preparations seen before North Korea's failed April 13 rocket launch.
"Given the observed level of activity noted of a new tent, trucks, people and numerous portable fuel/oxidizer tanks, should North Korea desire, it could possibly conduct its fifth satellite launch event during the next three weeks," DigitalGlobe said in a statement accompanying the image.
A Pentagon spokeswoman declined to comment on the reported satellite images, but said the Defense Department's position on North Korea's missile development efforts had not changed.
She urged North Korea to comply with UN Security Council resolutions that "require Pyongyang to suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner, and re-establish its moratorium on missile launching."
North Korea carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 and is under UN sanctions for its atomic weapons program. In April, under its new leader Kim Jong-un, it launched a rocket that flew just a few minutes covering a little over 90 kilometers before crashing into the sea.
The imagery was released days after a Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, reported US intelligence analysts had detected moves seen as preparation by North Korea for a long-range missile launch as early as this month.
DigitalGlobe, which provides commercial satellite imagery to the US government and foreign governments, on Monday released a new image it said showed increased activity at North Korea's Sohae (West Sea) Satellite Launch Station.
It said the imagery showed more people, trucks and other equipment at the site, a level of activity that was consistent with preparations seen before North Korea's failed April 13 rocket launch.
"Given the observed level of activity noted of a new tent, trucks, people and numerous portable fuel/oxidizer tanks, should North Korea desire, it could possibly conduct its fifth satellite launch event during the next three weeks," DigitalGlobe said in a statement accompanying the image.
A Pentagon spokeswoman declined to comment on the reported satellite images, but said the Defense Department's position on North Korea's missile development efforts had not changed.
She urged North Korea to comply with UN Security Council resolutions that "require Pyongyang to suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner, and re-establish its moratorium on missile launching."
North Korea carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 and is under UN sanctions for its atomic weapons program. In April, under its new leader Kim Jong-un, it launched a rocket that flew just a few minutes covering a little over 90 kilometers before crashing into the sea.
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