WASHINGTON - New satellite imagery appears to show preparations beginning for a long-range rocket launch in North Korea despite international objections.
The image from a privately operated satellite was taken Wednesday at the Tongchang-ri site where North Korea says it plans to launch the rocket between April 12 and 16.
An analysis conducted for the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies says the image shows trucks and fuel tanks, and work under way on the gantry next to a mobile launch pad.
North Korea says the launch is to fire an observation satellite into orbit. The U.S. says it is a cover to test long-range missile technology.
President Barack Obama has appealed to North Korean leaders to abandon the rocket plan but was promptly rebuffed.
