Yonhap.
SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has placed the first stage of its
three-stage, long-range rocket on its launch pad, a Seoul government
source said Monday, in the latest indication that Pyongyang will push
ahead with its plan to fire the rocket this month in defiance of
international warnings.
South Korea's military is also keeping a close watch on movements by the North's military after detecting signs that Pyongyang appears to be preparing for live-fire drills off its western coast near the tense Yellow Sea border ahead of the planned rocket launch, or possibly this weekend, said another source at Seoul's military.
"North Korea installed the first-stage rocket onto the launch pad," the government source said on the condition of anonymity. "That means North Korea is starting its process of launching a long-range missile."
It will take three or four days for North Korea to erect all three stages of the long-range rocket, South Korean intelligence and military officials say.
South Korea's military is also keeping a close watch on movements by the North's military after detecting signs that Pyongyang appears to be preparing for live-fire drills off its western coast near the tense Yellow Sea border ahead of the planned rocket launch, or possibly this weekend, said another source at Seoul's military.
"North Korea installed the first-stage rocket onto the launch pad," the government source said on the condition of anonymity. "That means North Korea is starting its process of launching a long-range missile."
It will take three or four days for North Korea to erect all three stages of the long-range rocket, South Korean intelligence and military officials say.
