South Korea says North is preparing for new missile launch

[xchrom]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/south-korea-says-north-is-preparing-for-new-missile-launch/2012/11/27/86213c8e-387b-11e2-8a97-363b0f9a0ab3_story.html

SEOUL — With fresh satellite images showing increasing activity at its launch site, North Korea could be ready to fire off a long-range rocket within several weeks, South Korean officials said Tuesday.

“There is a high possibility” of a launch between December and January, a senior military official told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.


The assessment came in the wake of an image released Monday from DigitalGlobe, which provides satellite imagery to the U.S. government. The image showed people, trucks, and fuel tanks at the Sohae launch site, in North Korea’s northwestern corner. The activity, DigitalGlobe said on its Web site, is consistent with preparations in the weeks before Pyongyang’s previous long-range blast in April.

The family-run police state has so far has said nothing about imminent plans for a launch, and security analysts cautioned that Pyongyang might not go through with a move that would rile its lone benefactor, China, whose Communist Party is breaking in new leadership.

[xchrom]

1. Satellite photo shows increased activity at North Korean launch site

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/27/us-korea-north-missiles-idUSBRE8AQ03P20121127

(Reuters) - A new satellite image shows a marked increase in activity at a North Korean missile launch site, pointing to a possible long-range ballistic missile test by Pyongyang in the next three weeks, according to satellite operator DigitalGlobe Inc.

The imagery was released days after a Japanese newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, reported that U.S. intelligence analysts had detected moves that were seen as preparation by North Korea for a long-range missile launch as early as this month.

DigitalGlobe, which provides commercial satellite imagery to the U.S. government and foreign governments, on Monday released a new image that it said showed increased activity at North Korea's Sohae (West Sea) Satellite Launch Station.

It said the imagery showed more people, trucks and other equipment at the site, a level of activity that was consistent with preparations seen before North Korea's failed April 13 rocket launch.

[davidpdx]

2. Oh what the hell is China going to do

They will tell all sides to be calm and then let them continue on their merry way.