North Korea has finished upgrades to its main satellite launching station, fueling concerns that Pyongyang might be in the works of sending another rocket into space.
The country has just wrapped a yearlong project to upgrade its main satellite launching station, the suspected test site for its intercontinental ballistic missile program, the U.S.-Korea Institute at John Hopkins University said in his recently published report, citing satellite pictures, The New York Times reported.
And that means “North Korea is now ready to move forward with another rocket launch,” the group reported.
North Korea launched the Unha-3 vehicle from the Sohae site in December 2012, ratcheting fears that Pyongyang was nearing the ability to construct an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead, The New York Times reported. The latest satellite imagery only drives those concerns further, although North Korea has yet to announce plans for another launch.
“Should a decision be made soon to do so in Pyongyang — and we have no evidence that one has — a rocket could be launched by the end of 2014,” the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University report said.
The group also said it’s not yet seen images of engine tests being performed.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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