SEOUL, Feb 11: North Korea’s latest rocket appears to have been slightly more powerful than a similar device fired in 2012, South Korean officials said, but didn’t demonstrate major progress to suggest Pyongyang could seriously threaten the U.S. mainland with a missile.
The rocket put a satellite into space after its launch on Sunday, but no communications signals from the device had been detected, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday. The satellite was about twice as heavy as the one launched in late 2012, likely weighing around 200 kilograms (440 pounds), the ministry estimated.
The new rocket was assessed to have a range of around 12,000 kilometers (7,400 miles) if it were used as a missile, the ministry said, greater than the assumed 10,000-kilometer range of the earlier rocket.
