The rocket launched by North Korea last Sunday was made using the technology of the Long March-1 rocket China fired in the 1970s.| Couldn't get a more recent set of plans ... |
The assembly method also seems to be Chinese. "The North set the first-stage booster rocket up vertically first, and then put the second and third-stage rockets on one by one. This assembly method is often used in China and backs up speculation that North Korea has borrowed the technology," Dr. Roh Woong-rae of KARI said. "You could see gas gushing out from the upper part of the first-stage booster rocket immediately after the rocket was launched, which is a characteristic of a rocket that uses liquid nitric acid as fuel." He added this corroborates a long-held speculation.
Asked if they believe the rocket was capable of carrying a satellite, experts said it seemed it had enough room in its upper part to carry a satellite.
The difference between the last two launches is that North Korea did not release a video clip of its abortive 2006 missile test, when the rocket flew for 42 seconds and exploded. This time, it released a five-second video. "Despite another failure, North Korea has been telling its people that the launch was a success," Chae said. "It seems the North is trying to mislead the public by at least releasing the video clip of the first few seconds."