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24-02-09 North Korea Says It Is Preparing Satellite Launch

By announcing that it is preparing to launch a "communications satellite," North Korea on Tuesday dressed up its planned test of a long-range ballistic missile -- which might be able to reach Alaska -- as a benign research project."Outer space is an asset common to mankind,and its use for peaceful purposes has become a global trend," said a spokesman for the North Korean Committee of Space Technology.North Korea's announcement comes amid warnings from the United States not to test the missile.A United Nations resolution,passed after North Korea exploded a nuclear device in 2006,bans the country from any ballistic missile activity.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last week that a missile test would "be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward."In a tour of East Asia,she urged the government of Kim Jong Il to stop its "provocative actions."North Korea appears to be setting up radar and other monitoring equipment around a missile launch site on its northeast coast,South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday.It said,however,that a missile has not yet been placed on the launch pad.South Korea's defense ministry says preparations for launch could be completed within days,although other analysts in Seoul say that North Korea has historically waited for much warmer weather before test launches