Airbus Defense & Space and 38 North satellite imagery from February 4, 2016 shows the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in North Korea in this image released on February 5, 2016. (Reuters Photo)
Washington:
Satellite images taken this week of North Korea's Sohae rocket launch site show apparent fuelling activity that has been seen in the past one to two weeks before a rocket launch, a U.S. think tank said on Friday.
North Korea has notified U.N. agencies it will launch a rocket carrying what it called an earth observation satellite some time between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25, triggering international opposition from governments that see it as a long-range missile test.
Commercial satellite images from Wednesday and Thursday show the arrival of tanker trucks at the launch pad, the Washington-based 38 North North Korea-monitoring project said. It said the presence of the trucks likely indicated the filling of tanks within bunkers at the site rather than a rocket itself.
"In the past, such activity has occurred 1-2 weeks prior to a launch event and would be consistent with North Korea's announced launch window," the report said.
North Korea has notified U.N. agencies it will launch a rocket carrying what it called an earth observation satellite some time between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25, triggering international opposition from governments that see it as a long-range missile test.
Commercial satellite images from Wednesday and Thursday show the arrival of tanker trucks at the launch pad, the Washington-based 38 North North Korea-monitoring project said. It said the presence of the trucks likely indicated the filling of tanks within bunkers at the site rather than a rocket itself.
"In the past, such activity has occurred 1-2 weeks prior to a launch event and would be consistent with North Korea's announced launch window," the report said.
© Thomson Reuters 2016
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