North Korea has allegedly erected a 67-meter-tall launch pad at its missile base that has the capability to fire long-range missiles 'larger than those of the past', South Korea's government has claimed.
South Korean government officials suspect that the Kim Jong-un regime will use the launch pad to fire a long-range missile to mark the 70th anniversary of the communist nation's Workers' Party in October this year, a source told South Korea's Yonhap News agency.
"Our assessment is that the North will use the newly upgraded Tongchang-ri (missile) launch pad to launch a long-range missile larger than Unha-3," an official told the news agency, referring to the long-range rocket that North Korea fired in 2012, which is believed to have put an object into space successfully.
The official has claimed that North Korea has extended its 50-meter-tall launch pad located in Dongchang-ri, close to the border with China to 67 meters.
Despite heavy international sanctions and warnings, North Korea has continued to pursue it missile technology and nuclear programme.
In May, North Korea had claimed that it had developed technology to make miniaturized nuclear weapons that could be fitted on to missiles.
The Kim Jong-un regime also recently dismissed any possibility of an Iran-like deal over its nuclear programme, citing 'US nuclear threat and hostile policy'.
