North Korea upgrades missile tower for possible October launch: Yonhap

[IceWizard]

Wed Jul 22, 2015 2:03am EDT

SEOUL (Reuters) -
North Korea has erected a new, taller launch tower at its missile base, possibly in preparation for firing a long-range rocket to mark an important national anniversary in October, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday.

The 67-metre (220-ft) tower will be able to
accommodate the launch of a longer-range
missile than the rocket test-fired in December
2012. That launch was widely considered
successful in putting an object into space orbit,
the Yonhap report said. North Korea is banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions from conducting tests that use ballistic missile technology but has defied international warnings and sanctions to pursue missile and nuclear programs.

"Our assessment is that the North will use the
newly upgraded Tongchang-ri (missile) launch
pad to launch a long-range missile larger than
Unha-3," Yonhap quoted a South Korean
government source as saying.

Unha-3 refers to the long-range rocket fired in
2012 from the base near its west coast. The launch is likely to come around the 70th
anniversary of the founding of the North's ruling Workers' Party on Oct. 10, the source was quoted as saying.

South Korea's Defense Ministry could not
immediately confirm the report but an official
said they were seeking to verify it. North Korea is believed to be developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) but is
seen as years away from deployment.

It is also working to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to mount on a delivery vehicle.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Paul Tait)