North Korea completes upgrade of rocket launch pad, conducts ICBM engine test

Photo - Astrium

September photo - Digital Globe

North Korea has completed the expansion of its main rocket launch site on the country's northwest coast and a new rocket launch could come before the end of the year, a U.S. think tank said Wednesday.Since late last year, the North has worked to upgrade the Sohae Satellite Launching Station to accommodate larger rockets with heavier payloads. Recent satellite imagery shows that the project has been completed, according to the website 38 North.

"North Korea is now ready to move forward with another rocket launch. Should a decision be made soon to do so in Pyongyang, a rocket could be launched by the end of 2014," said the website run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.According the report, the garrison and support base for the main construction unit, which was built in the summer of last year, was completely dismantled between Aug. 11 and Sept. 4. Beginning in August, 21 small shelters were also removed, it said.

In December 2012, the North put a satellite into orbit on an Unha-3 long-range rocket, fired from the Sohae launch pad in a surprise move that demonstrated to the world that it has moved closer to developing a nuclear missile that can reach the U.S. mainland.The most likely candidate for a new launch is still the Unha-3 rocket because a much larger rocket reportedly under development is at least several years from becoming operational, according to the website."Continuing activities on the ground at Sohae merit close watching. Imagery from mid-September spotted tanks near the propellant storage buildings at the launch pad for the first time since the 2012 launch," it said, adding the exact purpose of the activity is unclear.