North’s rocket payload a concern: US
Washington, Feb. 11: A satellite put into orbit by North Korea at the weekend does not appear to be transmitting, but it is worrying that the rocket that took it there delivered twice the payload of Pyongyang’s previous launch, the head of the US Army’s missile defence command said on Wednesday.
“If you look at the previous launch and the payload it put into orbit … just the increase in weight is I think an important factor,” Lt. Gen. David Mann told a seminar on Capitol Hill organised by the Hudson Institute think- tank. “Whenever you are able to put something into orbit, that’s significant,” Mr Mann said.
“I don’t think it’s transmitting as we speak, but it does reflect a capability that North Korea is trying to leverage in terms of its missile technologies,” he said. “That kind of capability and then also the collateral usages for that technology are obviously very, very concerning to nations around the world in terms of ICBM ( Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) capabilities.”
Mr Mann said the payload carried was almost twice as large as that carried in North Korea’s previous
The US Senate voted unanimously on Wednesday to toughen sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear programme, human rights record and cyber activities, as US legislators sought to crack down on Pyongyang for its nuclear tests satellite launch in 2012. He did not give a figure for the weight of the latest satellite, but South Korean officials have put it at 200 kg.
Meanwhile, the US Senate voted unanimously on Wednesday to toughen sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear programme, human rights record and cyber activities, as US legislators sought to crack down on Pyongyang for its nuclear tests.
The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in January. Differences between the two are expected to be resolved quickly and Senate Democrats said they expected President Barack Obama would sign the measure into law. The Senate vote for the “North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act” was 96- 0.