N. Korea installs rocket on launch pad despite calls to cancel
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SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea has installed the first stage of a long-range rocket it plans to launch this month on the launch pad, defying international calls to cancel the mission, a report said on Monday.
North Korea announced last Saturday that it would carry out its second long-range rocket launch this year between December 10 and 22.
The United States and its key Asian allies South Korea and Japan have condemned the launch as a disguised ballistic missile test that violates UN resolutions triggered by Pyongyang's two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.
The first stage has been placed in position at the North's Sohae satellite launch station, a South Korean government source told Yonhap news agency.
