North Korea intends “to launch another working satellite” aboard an Unha-3 rocket in the period between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22, announced the country’s state-run central news agency. The Dec. 1 announcement came less than one week after commercial satellite imagery of North Korea’s Sohae launch site indicated that the North Koreans appeared to be preparing for a launch of a multi-stage, long-range rocket. While the North Koreans claim that they are launching for “peaceful scientific” purposes—placing a polar-orbiting earth observation satellite into orbit—nations like the United States and Japan contend that the North Koreans seek to advance their long-range ballistic missile know-how. “A North Korean ‘satellite’ launch would be a highly provocative act that threatens peace and security in the region,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in a Dec. 1 release. She added: “Devoting scarce resources to the development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles will only further isolate and impoverish North Korea.” The communist nation failed in its previous attempt to launch a multi-stage missile in April. (See also Sydney Morning Herald report.)
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…