"Successful progress made in reconstructing and expanding satellite launching grounds for higher-level satellite lift-off has laid a firm foundation for dynamically pushing ahead with the nation's development of space science," the official KCNA news agency quoted the anonymous director of the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) as saying.
The director made the comments in an interview with the news agency on the country's achievement in space development on the occasion of the 70th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), which falls on Oct. 10, according to the report.
The director stressed that it is a sovereign state's legitimate right for space development for peaceful purposes and the DPRK people "are fully determined to exercise this right no matter what others may say about it."
The KCNA noted that the world will witness more satellites of Songun (military-first) Korea launched into the sky "at the times and locations determined by the WPK Central Committee."
These comments further fuel speculations that Pyongyang may be ready to launch a long-range rocket, or ballistic missile, around the upcoming Oct. 10 grand celebrations.
- However, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said last Thursday that no signs have been detected yet for the DPRK's test-firing of long-range rockets ahead of the 70th anniversary of the party's founding.
The DPRK recently erected a 67-meter-long launch tower for long-range rockets, taller than the previous 50-meter pad, at a Tongchang-ri rocket base in the northwest DPRK.
The country fired a three-stage Unha-3 rocket into the space orbit in December 2012, two months before its third nuclear test.
Xinhua - china.org.cn
15/9/15
--
-
Related:
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
North Korea to launch satellites to mark party anniversary...
ReplyDeleteNorth Korea said yesterday (Sept 14) it is ready to launch satellites aboard long-range rockets to mark the ruling communist party’s anniversary next month, a move expected to rekindle animosities with its rivals South Korea and the United States.
A National Aerospace Development Administration director said the North has been making “shining achievements” in the space development field ahead of the 70th birthday of the Workers’ Party, saying scientists and technicians are pushing forward on a final development phase for a new earth observation satellite for weather forecasts.
“Space development for peaceful purposes is a sovereign state’s legitimate right ... and the people of (North Korea) are fully determined to exercise this right no matter what others may say about it,” the director told Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency. The world will “clearly see a series of satellites soaring into the sky at times and locations determined” by the Workers’ Party.
The launches, if made, are certain to trigger an international standoff, with Seoul, Washington and other neighboring countries condemning past launches as disguised tests of the North’s long-range missile technology and Pyongyang making a furious response to the criticism...............Reuters......todayonline.com
North Korea says its main nuclear facility, the Yongbyon complex, has resumed normal operations...
ReplyDeleteThe country was improving its nuclear weapons "in quality and quantity", state-run news agency KCNA reported.
Yongbyon's reactor was shut down in 2007 but Pyongyang vowed to restart it in 2013, following its third nuclear test and amid high regional tensions.
The reactor has been the source of plutonium for North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
Experts believe that if re-started, the reactor could potentially make one bomb's worth of plutonium per year.
The announcement about Yongbyon is the first official confirmation from North Korea that it has restarted operations there.
A US think-tank said earlier this year that satellite images suggested that work had commenced at the plant.......BBC