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Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

Sources in S Korea are claiming that N Korea is preparing to launch a new, long range rocket. A launch would almost certainly be viewed by the international community as a disguised ballistic missile test and result in the imposition of fresh sanctions. It is thought that the launch might take place on Oct 10 which would mark the 70th anniversary of the Workers' Party

According to the Yonhap [News Agency] source, North Korea has completed work on an extended 67-metre (220-foot) gantry capable of handling a rocket twice the size of the 30-metre Unha-3 rocket launched in December, 2012.

The Unha-3 launch was widely condemned overseas as a ballistic missile test and triggered additional UN sanctions.

North Korea, which insisted the launch was purely scientific in nature, responded three months later by conducting [its] third nuclear test—the most powerful to date.

North Korea is banned under UN Security Council resolutions from carrying out any launch using ballistic missile technology, although repeated small-range missile tests have gone unpunished.

The upgrading of facilities at the Sohae launch centre have been closely monitored by satellite imagery analysts at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

In a recent report, the institute estimated that an October 10 launch would be "difficult although not impossible".

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