From correspondents in London, England, 12:33 AM IST

North Korea is close to completing a second long-range missile launch site close to the Chinese border, experts using satellite imagery have said, BBC reported Thursday.

The secret facility is in the knowledge of the intelligence agencies which have been monitoring its development, but its construction does not violate international agreement.

The site has been located by Joseph Bermudez of Jane's Intelligence Group, with the help of satellite imagery analysts. Construction will take another two years or so to complete, he said.

The building of the facility, which is larger and more sophisticated than Musudan-ri, Pyongyang's other launch site, is an indication that the communist country is still pursuing its space launch and ballistic missile programmes, Bermudez told media.

'This is a national programme in their desire to expand both their space launch and ballistic missile launch programmes,' he said.

The location in itself does not significantly alter the range of targets that North Korea could potentially strike. But the existence of the base is a clear sign that North Korea's missile programme is active.

Western experts believe that Pyongyang's ultimate goal is to have an inter-continental range system that could potentially deliver a nuclear pay-load, BBC analysts said.

North Korea used Musudan-ri to launch a Taepodong-1 missile in 1998 over Japan. A Taepodong-2 missile was launched from there in 2006, but it failed.

News of the missile site comes as international efforts to urge North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme are at an impasse.

North Korea agreed in February 2007 to give up its nuclear ambitions in return for aid and diplomatic concessions, but the progress of the deal has been far from smooth.

After a long delay, Pyongyang handed over details of its nuclear facilities in June 2008. In return, it expected the US to remove it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

But the two sides cannot agree on a process to verify the information about its nuclear facility that North Korea handed over and Pyongyang now appears to be starting to reassemble its main nuclear plant.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)