North Korea prepares to launch rocket

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North Korea prepares to launch rocket

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North Korea on Sunday took members of the foreign media to visit the site of a rocket launch.

09 April,2012 09:56 pm

North Korea allows members of the foreign media to visit the site of a rocket launch it says will carry a weather satellite into space, but which the United States and its allies have condemned as a disguised ballistic missile test.North Korea says the Unha-3 rocket will carry a weather satellite into space when it is launched between April 12 and 16 to coincide with the centenary of the countrys founding father Kim Il-sung.The United States, Japan and South Korea have said the rocket is a disguised ballistic missile test.Dozens of members of the foreign media were taken by train to the Sohae (West Sea in English) Satellite Launch site.Jang Myong Jin, the sites director, said the invitation was a bold decision by the countrys new leader Kim Jong-un, which aimed to prove that the rocket was being used for peaceful means.If it were a ballistic missile it would have to be hidden in an underground chamber, or would need to be carried aboard another vehicle for protection. If it were not, then it would be useless in a real war, he told a crowd of members of the media.North Korea agreed in February to stop nuclear tests, uranium enrichment and long-range missile launches in return for food aid, but that has all since unravelled with the Norths rocket launch.Japan and South Korea have said the rockets launch would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution, and have warned of international consequences if it goes ahead.