N. Korea upgrading rocket launch site: Report
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North Korean army officers and soldiers attend a rally at Kim Il Sung Square on Thursday, Feb 14, 2013, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in celebration of the country's recent nuclear test. A US research institute says North Korea is upgrading one of its two major missile launch sites, apparently to handle much bigger rockets. -- PHOTO: AP
WASHINGTON (AP) - A US research institute says North Korea is upgrading one of its two major missile launch sites, apparently to handle much bigger rockets.
Design features of a new launch pad under construction at the north-eastern site of Tonghae also suggest that Iran may be helping North Korea.
38 North, the website of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, published its assessment on Thursday based on commercial satellite images, the latest taken last month.
The analysis also identifies activity at an older launch pad at Tonghae, last used for a long-range rocket in 2009, but says it is unclear if that indicates preparations for another launch there.