North Korean Leader Calls For More Powerful Rockets

Kim Jong Un (file photo)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the development of more powerful rockets, North Korean media has reported.

Kim gave the order during a banquet with scientists and technicians on December 21.

"You should develop and launch...more working satellites...and carrier rockets of larger capacity," Kim was quoted as saying.

Earlier this month, North Korea successfully used a long-range rocket to put the country's first satellite into orbit.

That launch was condemned by the United States, South Korea, and others as a test of ballistic-missile technology that is banned under UN Security Council resolutions aimed at limiting Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP