N. Korea said to be preparing for rocket launch between April 4-8

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with possible date for rocket launch, CORRECTS dateline)
SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has informed an international
organization on shipping safety that it will fire a rocket carrying a "satellite"
between April 4-8, an intelligence source here said Thursday.
"North Korea informed the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of its plan
to launch the Kwangmyongsong-2 between April 4-8," the source told Yonhap News
Agency.
Earlier in the day, the communist nation said through its official agency that it
had notified the IMO and other related global bodies about the upcoming rocket
launch.
"The DPRK (North Korea) informed the International Civil Aviation Organization,
the International Maritime Organization and other international organizations of
necessary information for the safe navigation of planes and ships according to
relevant regulations as part of its preparations for launching Kwangmyongsong-2,
an experimental communications satellite, by carrier rocket Unha-2 which was made
public by the Korean Committee of Space Technology recently," the Korean Central
News Agency (KCNA) reported, without mentioning a date for the rocket launch.
It added that Pyongyang had also joined the international treaty and convention
on space.
"The DPRK's accession to the said treaty and convention will contribute to
promoting international confidence and boosting cooperation in the scientific
research into space and the satellite launch for peaceful purposes," the KCNA
said.
Thursday's announcement follows weeks of reports that North Korea is preparing to
launch a long-range missile from a base on its east coast. Pyongyang partly
confirmed the reports, arguing it is seeking to send a communication satellite
into orbit as part of peaceful space program.
The U.S. intelligence chief said earlier this week that North Korea appears to be
seeking a space rocket launch as it claims.
"The North Koreans announced that they were going to do a space launch, and I
believe that that's what they intend," National Intelligence Director Dennis
Blair told a Congress committee.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)