North Korea may be preparing for rocket launch - US

The last long-range rocket launch at Sohae Satellite Launching Station was in 2012

North Korea may be preparing a rocket launch, US officials say, citing increased activity around the Sohae Satellite Launching Station.

One official told the AFP news agency that the launch might be "for a satellite or a space vehicle".

But nothing indicated it would be for a ballistic missile, the official added.

It comes as the UN Security Council discusses imposing fresh sanctions against North Korea after it conducted a fourth nuclear test on 6 January.

Pyongyang said it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, but nuclear experts have questioned the claim, saying the blast was not large enough.

'A lot of guesses'
On Thursday morning, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that Japanese officials were concerned by recent activity at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, also known as Tongchang-ri.

Analysis of satellite imagery suggested preparations were under way for a missile or rocket launch, possibly within a week, the officials said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency meanwhile cited a government source as saying screens had been set up at key areas at the site, probably to deter satellite surveillance.

Later, an unnamed US official in Washington told AFP: "The indications are that they are preparing for some kind of launch.

"Could be for a satellite or a space vehicle - there are a lot of guesses.

"North Korea does this periodically - they move things back and forth... There's nothing to indicate it's ballistic-missile related."

North Korea last conducted a long-range rocket launch in 2012, successfully putting into orbit an object Pyongyang claimed was a communications satellite.

Source:BBC