SEOUL, March 29 (UPI) -- North Korea's much-anticipated rocket launch is likely to happen between April 6-8, South Korean officials said Sunday.
They made the prediction based on a long-term weather forecast for the skies over the North's east coast rocket launch site, Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, reported.
Pyongyang said this month that it plans to launch a rocket, which it says is to send a communications satellite into space, sometime between April 4 and 8. South Korea and others believe the purpose of the launch is actually to test-fire a long-range missile in violation of a United Nations resolution.
Officials at South Korea's state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute told Yonhap the actual launch date will largely depend on weather conditions, noting that current forecasts make an April 6-8 window seem most likely, assuming there isn't a change.
"The top priority in determining the timing for rocket launch is weather conditions, because of their significant effect on various electronic devices," an unnamed KARI scientist told the news agency. "Windy and cloudy weather, let alone rain or snow, is not suitable for a rocket launch."
