WASHINGTON – U.S. officials have confirmed that North Korea is loading a Taepo Dong rocket on its east coast launch pad for the expected launch of a communications satellite early next month.
U.S. counterproliferation and intelligence officials confirmed Japanese news reports of the expected launch between April 4 and 8.
North Korea announced its intention to launch the satellite in February. Regional powers worry the claim is a cover for the launch of a long-range missile capable of reaching Alaska. National Intellgience Director Dennis Blair said earlier this month that all indications suggest North Korea will actually launch a satellite.
North Korea faked a satellite launch in 1998 to cloak a missile development test. In 2006, it launched a Taepo Dong-2 that blew up less than a minute into flight.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090325/...nkorea_missile