SEOUL, Sept. 16 (UPI) — North Korea has said that it plans to launch satellites, but the station where the rocket would be placed shows little to no sign of activity.
Satellite images from Sept. 6 analyzed on 38 North, a Johns Hopkins University website dedicated to North Korea issues, indicated the Sohae Satellite Launching Station has been quiet since a movable framework for rocket support was last seen sliding back and forth between the Stationary Preparation Building and the gantry tower.
Given the low levels of activity and only five weeks left before the Oct. 10 anniversary of the Korean Workers’ Party, Pyongyang does not have time to prepare a launch by mid-October, wrote analysts Jack Liu and Joseph S. Bermudez. Stages of the space launch vehicle would have already undergone a “checkout” process, they said.
North Korea, however, could still be working on the launch under an area enclosed by a cover. While it is an unlikely possibility, activities beneath the shroud are difficult to detect, and observation in general has become a challenge due to recent construction of a new processing facility on the east side of the launch pad. Underground rails that lead to the launch pad also hide activity, the analysts said.
South Korea military said Tuesday that it has observed low levels of activity, but North Korea recently built a new 220-feet platform, as well as fuel and storage facilities for oxidizers, news network YTN reported.
Seoul’s Defense Minister Han Min-koo said during a recent parliamentary audit that the general consensus is that North Korea is expected to launch and that the military is keeping track of developments at the site near the China border.
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