North Korea unveils rocket for satellite launch attempt
Posted: Mon, Apr 9, 2012, 7:40 AM ET (1140 GMT)
North Korean officials, in a rare display of openness, showed off to foreign visitors Sunday a rocket they plan to launch later this week. Foreign journalists were given access to the launch site at Tongchang-ri in northwestern North Korea, where a Unha-3 rocket is being prepared for launch. North Korean officials say they plan to launch the rocket between April 12 and 16, placing a small satellite into a near-polar 500-kilometer orbit on a remote sensing mission. The governments of several nations, including the United States, Japan, and South Korea, object to the launch, which they claim is primarily a test of long-range missile technology. North Korea claimed to have launched satellites twice previously, in 1998 and 2009, but both launches appeared to have failed to place objects in orbit.
North Korean officials, in a rare display of openness, showed off to foreign visitors Sunday a rocket they plan to launch later this week. Foreign journalists were given access to the launch site at Tongchang-ri in northwestern North Korea, where a Unha-3 rocket is being prepared for launch. North Korean officials say they plan to launch the rocket between April 12 and 16, placing a small satellite into a near-polar 500-kilometer orbit on a remote sensing mission. The governments of several nations, including the United States, Japan, and South Korea, object to the launch, which they claim is primarily a test of long-range missile technology. North Korea claimed to have launched satellites twice previously, in 1998 and 2009, but both launches appeared to have failed to place objects in orbit.
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