Kim seeks to expand launch pad amid worry about ICBM firing

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his officials to expand a satellite launch facility to fire a variety of rockets

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his officials to expand a satellite launch facility to fire a variety of rockets, state media reported Friday, as the U.S. and South Korean militaries concluded the North is testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile system.

Experts earlier said North Korea could perform a satellite-carrying rocket launch soon in violation of U.N. resolutions after conducting a string of tests recently aimed at modernizing its missile arsenals and applying more pressure on the Biden administration amid stalled diplomacy. Such a rocket launch by North Korea would be its most significant provocation since late 2017 and a violation of its self-imposed moratorium on long-range and nuclear tests.

North Korea’s neighbors detected two ballistic launches last week in the country's first weapons firings in about a month. North Korea later said it was testing cameras and other systems to be installed on a spy satellite but didn’t disclose what missiles or rockets it used.

After analyzing those launches, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said they’ve concluded the North’s two recent missile launches involved an ICBM system under development that the North first unveiled during a military parade in October 2020.