N. Korea halts work on long-range rocket launch site: think tank

North Korea has halted all new construction at a long-range rocket launch facility on its east coast, a U.S. think tank said Tuesday, citing recent satellite imagery.

According to 38 North, an analysis program of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, no construction work has been carried out at the Musudan-ri facility for the past eight months.

The facility, also called the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground, was designed to handle rockets larger than the Unha-3 space launch vehicle (SLV). The launch last December of the SLV with a range rivaling that of existing intercontinental ballistic missiles triggered international condemnation and fueled tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

No marked difference was shown between recent satellite imagery and past photos from space of the Musudan-ri site. If construction were complete, the site would have a launch pad, rocket assembly building and control center.

The think tank also said that work had slowed and then stopped late last year, with most North Korea watchers expecting construction to restart in May.

"Exactly why construction has halted remains unclear," 38 North said, but it speculated that Pyongyang may have considered that making better use of the already completed Sohae Satellite Launching Station on its west coast was a better management decision considering the country's limited resources.

The Sohae station does have facilities to support the development of rockets larger than the Unha-3s. (Yonhap News)