North Korea to launch satellite

SEOUL -- North Korea said Tuesday that it is preparing to shoot a satellite into orbit, its clearest reference yet to an impending launch that neighbors and the U.S. suspect will be a provocative test of a long-range missile.

The statement from the North's space technology agency comes amid growing international concern that the communist nation is gearing up to fire a version of its most advanced missile — one capable of reaching the U.S. — within a week, in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution.

North Korea asserted last week that it bears the right to "space development" — words the regime has used in the past to disguise a missile test. In 1998, North Korea test-fired a Taepodong-1 ballistic missile over Japan and then claimed to have put a satellite into orbit.

"Full-fledged preparations are underway to launch the pilot communications satellite Kwangmyongsong No. 2" at a launch site in Hwadae in the northeast, the North's agency said in a statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency. The report did not say when the launch would take place.

Unnamed intelligence officials reported brisk personnel and vehicle activity at the Hwadae launch site, the Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday. However, the North has not yet placed the missile on a launch pad, the report said. After mounting the missile, it could take five to seven days to fuel the rocket.

Hwadae is believed to be the launch site for North Korea's longest-range missile, the Taepodong-2, which has the capability of reaching Alaska. Reports suggest the missile being readied for launch could be an advanced version of the Taepodong-2 with even greater range: the U.S. West Coast.

South Korea's defense minister has said launch preparations could be completed within days.

Analysts have warned for weeks that the North may fire a missile to send a strong signal to South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, who took office a year ago Wednesday with a hard-line policy on North Korea, and to new President Obama.