said in a report<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n“While the key components of the Sohae complex have been undergoing modernization and expansion over the past year, this uptick in activity suggests a new level of urgency in making the site ready to accommodate satellite launches,” the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new launch pad appears to feature a rail-mounted assembly structure, a possible mechanism for lifting a rocket into place, lighting towers, and a tunnel for funnelling flames away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If it is meant to service liquid-fuelled rockets, additional infrastructure will most likely be needed, the report added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Sohae’s main launch pad, crews appear to have completed modifications to the gantry tower, while work continues on a storage for fuel and oxidizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A new area for VIPs to observe launches also appears largely completed, 38 North concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Analysts say a military satellite is part of the reclusive, nuclear-armed state’s efforts to advance surveillance technology, including drones, to improve its ability to strike targets in the event of a conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korea has tried several times to launch “earth observation” satellites, of which two appeared to have been successfully placed in orbit, including the latest in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
International observers have said the satellite seemed to be under control, but there was lingering debate over whether it had sent any transmissions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reuters: SEOUL, May 25 – Construction at North Korea\u2019s satellite launching station has hit a \u201cnew level of urgency,\u201d most likely in preparation for a launch, a U.S.-based think tank said in a report citing commercial satellite imagery. North Korea says it has completed its first military spy satellite, and leader Kim Jong Un has approved final preparations for a launch to place it in orbit, without publicising a date. Commercial satellite imagery from Monday shows that progress on a new launch pad in a coastal area east of North Korea\u2019s Sohae Satellite Launching Station is moving forward at a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-in-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32353"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32355,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32353\/revisions\/32355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}