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Satellite image confirms N. Korean rocket in place for launch+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON, March 29_(Kyodo) _ The Institute for Science and International Security said Sunday the U.S. think tank has confirmed through a satellite image that North Korea has placed a rocket on a launch pad. The image revealed by the ISIS, taken at about 11 a.m. Sunday local time in North Korea, is the first of its kind since reports came out in midweek that the rocket has been positioned at the Musudanri facility on the reclusive communist country's east coast. Pyongyang claims the rocket launch, scheduled for sometime between April 4 and 8, is for putting a satellite into orbit. But countries like Japan, the United States and South Korea suspect it may actually be a test-firing of a Taepodong-2 ballistic missile. The ISIS had revealed satellite images of the facility also on Thursday and Friday, but none of them were clear enough to confirm that the rocket was in place for the launch. North Korea has informed the International Maritime Organization of its launch plan and warned that the first stage of the rocket would fall into the Sea of Japan and the second stage into the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Japan and Hawaii. The Japanese government has issued an order to prepare for the destruction of the rocket or its debris falling toward its territory in case the planned launch fails. A Taepodong-2 missile is believed to have a range of more than 6,000 kilometers. Copyright ? 2009 Kyodo News International, Inc. |