North Korea is pressing ahead with preparation for along-range rocket launch after extending its liftoff window by another weekuntil Dec. 29 because of technical problems.
It's North Korea's second attempt this year, and the fifthsince 1998, to launch a rocket that the United Nations, Washington, Seoul andothers call a cover meant to test technology for missiles that could be used tostrike the United States. They have warned North Korea to cancel the launch orface more sanctions.
The North Koreans call the launch a peaceful bid to advancetheir space program and a last wish of late leader Kim Jong Il, who died onDec. 17 last year. North Korea is also celebrating the centennial this year ofthe birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, current leader Kim Jong Un'sgrandfather. The rocket it launched in April broke apart seconds after liftoff.
On Monday, an unidentified spokesman for the North's KoreanCommittee of Space Technology told state media that scientists found a"technical deficiency in the first-stage control engine module of therocket." The statement didn't elaborate but said technicians were movingahead with final preparations for the liftoff from a west coast launch site.
The second day of North Korea's extended 20-day launchwindow began on Tuesday morning without signs of a liftoff. The specifics ofthe rocket's technical problems aren't clear, but state media put out anovernight dispatch detailing the unusually cold weather and heavy snow hittingthe northern part of the Korean Peninsula.
The announcement of the planned rocket launch has sparkedworry because of the timing: South Korea and Japan hold key elections thismonth, President Barack Obama begins his second term in January, and China hasjust formed a new leadership.
The North had originally set up a 13-day launch window,starting Monday, but it announced early Sunday that it may delay the liftoffbecause of unspecified reasons.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland saidMonday that as far as the United States can tell it's simply a delay and NorthKorea still plans to launch the rocket. She reiterated Washington's demand thatthe North comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions and not proceed withthe launch.
She said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spokeFriday with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi about what influence Chinacould bring to bear on the North "to see reason and focus on thedevelopment of their country and the feeding of their people rather than onballistic missile launches." China is North Korea's only major ally.
North Korea said Monday that it has faced exceptionally coldweather since last week and that most areas received heavy snow on Wednesday.State media quoted Ri Chol Su, vice-director of the North's CentralMeteorological Institute, as saying the temperature in western coastal areas,where the rocket launch pad is located, dropped to up to minus-17 C (1.4 F)from Saturday to Monday.
Engineers can launch a rocket when it's snowing, butlightning, strong wind and freezing temperatures have the potential to stallliftoff, said Lee Chang-jin, an aerospace professor at Seoul's KonkukUniversity.
Still, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Mondaythat his government would maintain vigilance. Tokyo has mobilized its militaryto intercept any debris from the rocket.
"At this moment, we are keeping our guard up,"Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto told reporters Monday. "We have not seenany objective indication that would cause us to make any change to ourpreparedness."
At least one Aegis-equipped South Korean destroyer has beendeployed in the Yellow Sea to monitor North Korea's rocket launch, according toSouth Korean officials.
The United States has also moved extra ships with ballisticmissile defense capabilities toward the region, officials said.
The U.S., Japan and South Korea say they'll seek U.N.Security Council action if the launch goes ahead in defiance of existingresolutions. The council condemned April's launch and ordered seizure of assetsof three North Korean state companies linked to financing, exporting andprocuring weapons and missile technology.
In addition to four previous launches, North Korea hasunveiled missiles designed to target U.S. soil and has tested two atomicdevices in recent years. It has not yet proven to have mastered the technologyfor mounting a nuclear warhead to a long-range missile, however.
A successful launch would mean North Korea could develop anintercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland withintwo to three years, said Chong Chol-Ho, a weapons of mass destruction expert atthe private Sejong Institute near Seoul.
Six-nation negotiations to offer North Korea much-needed aidin exchange for nuclear disarmament have been stalled since early 2009.
International pressure and the prospect of dialogue may be afactor in the delay, analysts in Seoul said.
China must have sent a "very strong" messagecalling for the North to cancel the launch plans, said analyst Baek Seung-jooof the South Korean state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.
North Korea may also be holding off if the U.S., itslongtime Korean War foe, actively engages Pyongyang in dialogue, said KohYu-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul's Dongguk University.