NKorea says it is preparing satellite launch

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - February 23, 2009 The North's space technology agency said Tuesday that full-fledged preparations are under way to launch satellite "Kwangmyongsong No. 2" at Hwadae in the country's northeast, Pyongyang's clearest reference yet to an approaching launch.

Hwadae is widely believed to be the launch site for the North's longest-range Taepodong-2 missile.

North Korea said last week that it has the right to "space development" - a term it has used in the past to disguise a missile test as a satellite launch. When it test-fired a shorter-range Taepodong 1 missile over Japan in 1998, it claimed to have put a satellite into orbit.

CLICK HERE to follow Action News on Twitter

CLICK HERE to get Action News on your website

CLICK HERE to find Action News on Facebook

Click here to get the latest Philadelphia news and headlines from across the Delaware and Lehigh valleys.