North Korea extends window, plans for rocket launch

Faced with technical problems, North Korea extended the window during which they plan to launch a long-ranch rocket. It will be the country's second attempt to launch a rocket this year.

By Hyung-Jin Kim,?Associated Press / December 10, 2012

North Koreans pay a visit to the bronze statues of national founder Kim Il Sung, (l.), and late leader Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea Monday. North Korea on Monday extended the launch period for a controversial long-range rocket by another week until Dec. 29, citing technical problems.

Kyodo News/AP

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North Korea is pressing ahead with preparation for a long-range rocket launch after extending its liftoff window by another week until Dec. 29 because of technical problems.

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It's North Korea's second attempt this year, and the fifth since 1998, to launch a rocket that the United Nations, Washington, Seoul and others call a cover meant to test technology for missiles that could be used to strike the United States. They have warned North Korea to cancel the launch or face more sanctions.

The North Koreans call the launch a peaceful bid to advance their space program and a last wish of late leader Kim Jong Il, who died on Dec. 17 last year. North Korea is also celebrating the centennial this year of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, current leader Kim Jong Un's grandfather. The rocket it launched in April broke apart seconds after liftoff.

On Monday, an unidentified spokesman for the North's Korean Committee of Space Technology told state media that scientists found a "technical deficiency in the first-stage control engine module of the rocket." The statement didn't elaborate but said technicians were moving ahead with final preparations for the liftoff from a west coast launch site.

The second day of North Korea's extended 20-day launch window began on Tuesday morning without signs of a liftoff. The specifics of the rocket's technical problems aren't clear, but state media put out an overnight dispatch detailing the unusually cold weather and heavy snow hitting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.

The announcement of the planned rocket launch has sparked worry because of the timing: South Korea and Japan hold key elections this month, President Barack Obama begins his second term in January, and China has just formed a new leadership.

The North had originally set up a 13-day launch window, starting Monday, but it announced early Sunday that it may delay the liftoff because of unspecified reasons.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday that as far as the United States can tell it's simply a delay and North Korea still plans to launch the rocket. She reiterated Washington's demand that the North comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions and not proceed with the launch.

She said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke Friday with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi about what influence China could bring to bear on the North "to see reason and focus on the development of their country and the feeding of their people rather than on ballistic missile launches." China is North Korea's only major ally.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/6J_AHKEn_jY/North-Korea-extends-window-plans-for-rocket-launch

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