9 April 2012 Last updated at 08:47

In pictures: North Korea readies rocket launch

A Unha-3 rocket is pictured at Tongchang-ri launch site on 8 April 2012

North Korea is in the final stages of preparation for a rocket launch due to take place between 12 to 16 April, to mark the centenary of late leader Kim Il-sung's birth.

North Korean technicians work at the control room of the Tongchang-ri space centre on 8 April 2012

Pyongyang says the launch of the Unha-3 rocket, which will put a satellite into orbit, is for research and ''peaceful purposes''.

Soldiers stand guard in front of the Unha-3 rocket at the West Sea Satellite Launch Site, during a guided media tour by North Korean authorities 8 April 2012

But opponents of the move, including the United States, South Korea and Japan, fear it is a disguised long-range missile test. The launch, they say, would violate UN sanctions imposed after a similar launch in 2009.

Pyongyang agreed in February to a partial freeze in nuclear activities and a missile test moratorium in return for US food aid. But the deal was put on hold after the North announced its rocket launch plans.

An 8 April 2012 photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency of journalists in the Sohae Satellite Station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea.

On Sunday, officials took a group of foreign journalists by train to the Sohae satellite station at Tongchang-ri, on the country's northwest coast, to see the preparations for the rocket launch.

Engineers check the base of the Unha-3 rocket sitting on a launch pad at the Tongchang-ri launch Site on 8 April 2012

All three stages of the rocket were seen in position at the launch pad. Officials say fuelling will begin soon.

A woman cleans a portrait of the late North Korean leaders Kim Jong-il, right, and Kim Il-sung at an office in Pyongyang on 9 April 2012

Meanwhile, in Pyongyang, preparations are underway for the celebrations on 15 April of the 100th anniversary of the late Kim Il-sung's birth, pictured here with Kim Jong-il, who died in December 2011.

Thousands of North Koreans gather for the unveiling of a mosaic of the two late North Korean leaders Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung as part of celebrations marking the 100 year anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth 9 April 2012, in Pyongyang, North Korea

On Monday, thousands gathered in Pyongyang to witness the unveiling of mosaic portraits of the late leaders.

Asia

In pictures: North Korea readies rocket launch

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