North Korea has announced that it will be testing its experimental satellite – Kwangmyongsong-1. Observers that know the country better fear that it could once again test its longest-range missile, the Taepodong. This particular missile has a range of 6,700 km and is capable of targeting Alaska or even Hawaii. For its maximum range the missile is thought to be capable of a payload of 500 kg and North Korea may already have a nuclear warhead for that payload capacity.
The last time North Korea tested the Taepodong, it did so under the guise of launching a satellite rocket. Apparently the technology cobbled together from rogue nations all over the world couldn’t keep the ambitious long-range missile in the air for more than forty seconds.
This time; however, U.S officials fear that North Korea may well-succeed in carrying out a successful launch. Spy satellite pics show hectic activity at the site of the previous missile launch. North Korean workers can be seen deploying expensive telemetry equipment, the type used to monitor the progress of a missile.
In 1998 things almost got out of hand when North Korea streaked one Taepodong missile over the Japanese mainland, back then too the excuse was testing a satellite.
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