United Nations committee on North Korea could propose drone ban

Since Thursday, movement of people and equipment has become active around the launch pad and a fuel storehouse at North Korea’s Dongchang-ri base in the country’s northwest, the official said, according to the report datelined Washington.

“In the past, such activity has occurred one to two weeks prior to a launch event and would be consistent with North Korea’s announced launch window”, the website said.

The White House said President Barack Obama spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday about North Korea’s nuclear test last month and the planned launch.

China has told North Korea that it does not want to see anything happen that could further raise tension, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, describing “a serious situation”, after a special envoy from China visited North Korea this week.

The recent actions carried out by North Korea, who conducted an unsanctioned nuclear test on January 6, have forced countries to pressure China to use its influence to contain the issue before it gets worse.

“The peninsula can not be nuclearised, and can not have war or chaos”, Xi said, also repeating a call for dialogue.

Airbus Defense & Space and 38 North satellite imagery from February 4, 2016 shows the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in North Korea in this image released on February 5, 2016.

The U.S.is already gunning to punish Pyongyang for what it says will be a ballistic missile test in the guise of a space launch.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye called on China to impose sanctions on North Korea in response to its provocations.

The only solution, she argued, was to impose sanctions harsh enough “to make it realise that it will not survive unless it gives up its nuclear programme”.

South Korea has warned of shooting down debris that fall on its territory or territorial waters from a DPRK rocket, which was estimated by the Seoul military to fly over its western border island of Baengnyeong at an altitude of about 180 km.

The despot’s brutal regime said it had the ability to launch a nuclear warhead from a submarine thanks to advancements in its ballistic missile technology.

In this July 26, 2013, photo, North Koreans dance under a flashcard display of an image of a satellite during the Arirang Mass Games celebrations in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Han said South Korea and the US will mobilize surveillance assets “effectively” to minimize any lapse in monitoring the missile launch, according to a statement from the ministry.