North Korea Apparently Preparing For an Even Bigger Rocket Failure
That rocket launch North Korea was preparing for may not happen after all. Apparently North Korean scientists are considering delaying the rocket launch, scheduled for some time between December 10 and December 22, "for some reasons." That's what a spokesperson for North Korea's Committee of Space Technology said Saturday on state-owned television station KCNA, at least.
"Our scientists and technicians, however, are now seriously examining the issue of readjusting the
launching time of the satellite for some reasons," the spokesperson said. What those reasons are remain unclear. The Associated Press reported Friday evening that snow may have delayed the rocket preparations at the launch site, which seems silly. Snow melts. It would not be hard to get rid of some snow on time for a December 22 launch date.
North Korea's latest rocket launch was interesting because, besides angering the usual suspects like the U.S. and South Korea, even Russia and China were concerned. North Korea claims the rocket is simply blasting a new satellite into space, but most think North Korea's space program is a cover-up for ballistic missile development.
Just a few days ago it seemed this rocket was cocked, locked, and ready to go. Who knows what changed. Maybe they realized this one was about to fail as spectacularly as their last attempt to launch a "satellite" in April.
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