Satellite Images Show Arrival Of Fuel Trucks At North Korea Launch Site: Think Tank

Washington: Satellite images taken this week of North Korea's Sohae rocket launch site show apparent fuelling activity that has been seen in the past one to two weeks before a rocket launch, a U.S. think tank said on Friday.

North Korea has notified U.N. agencies it will launch a rocket carrying what it called an earth observation satellite some time between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25, triggering international opposition from governments that see it as a long-range missile test.

Commercial satellite images from Wednesday and Thursday show the arrival of tanker trucks at the launch pad, the Washington-based 38 North North Korea-monitoring project said. It said the presence of the trucks likely indicated the filling of tanks within bunkers at the site rather than a rocket itself.

"In the past, such activity has occurred 1-2 weeks prior to a launch event and would be consistent with North Korea's announced launch window," the report said.