By Josh Smith
SEOUL (Reuters) - Construction at&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea&rsquo;s&nbsp;satellite&nbsp;launching station has hit a &ldquo;new level of urgency,&rdquo; most likely in preparation for a&nbsp;launch, a U.S.-based think tank said in a&nbsp;report&nbsp;citing commercial&nbsp;satellite&nbsp;imagery.
North&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;says it has completed its first military spy&nbsp;satellite, and leader Kim Jong Un has approved final preparations for a&nbsp;launch&nbsp;to place it in orbit, without publicising a date.
Commercial&nbsp;satellite&nbsp;imagery from Monday shows that progress on a new&nbsp;launch&nbsp;pad&nbsp;in a coastal area east of&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea&rsquo;s Sohae&nbsp;Satellite&nbsp;Launching Station is moving forward at a "remarkable pace", 38&nbsp;North, a Washington-based programme that monitors&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea, said in a&nbsp;report&nbsp;on Thursday.
"While the key components of the Sohae complex have been undergoing modernization and expansion over the past year, this uptick in activity suggests a new level of urgency in making the site ready to accommodate&nbsp;satellite&nbsp;launches," the&nbsp;report&nbsp;said.
The new&nbsp;launch&nbsp;pad&nbsp;appears to feature a rail-mounted assembly structure, a possible mechanism for lifting a rocket into place, lighting towers, and a tunnel for funnelling flames away.
If it is meant to service liquid-fuelled rockets, additional infrastructure will most likely be needed, the&nbsp;report&nbsp;added.
At Sohae's main&nbsp;launch&nbsp;pad, crews appear to have completed modifications to the gantry tower, while work continues on a storage for fuel and oxidizer.
A new area for VIPs to observe&nbsp;launches also appears largely completed, 38&nbsp;North&nbsp;concluded.
Analysts say a military&nbsp;satellite&nbsp;is part of the reclusive, nuclear-armed state's efforts to advance surveillance technology, including drones, to improve its ability to strike targets in the event of a conflict.
North&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;has tried several times to&nbsp;launch&nbsp;"earth observation"&nbsp;satellites, of which two appeared to have been successfully placed in orbit, including the latest in 2016.
International observers have said the&nbsp;satellite&nbsp;seemed to be under control, but there was lingering debate over whether it had sent any transmissions.
&nbsp;
(Reporting by Josh Smith. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

you might like

North Korea constructing satellite launch pad with 'new urgency' - report