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N. Korea installs its largest missile launch pad

July 21, 2015

The Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) rocket carrying the second version of Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite, is launched at West Sea Satellite Launch Site in Cholsan county, North Pyongan province, December 12, 2012 in this picture released by the North’s KCNA news agency in Pyongyang early December 14, 2012. (Yonhap/KCNA)

When North Korea said it was going to continue developing nuclear weapon and missile technology regardless of the Iran nuclear deal earlier on Tuesday, most observers probably didn’t expect that the communist state would also install a 67 meter tall launch pad later in the day — its largest on record.

Technically, an extension was built on an existing 50 meter launch pad, but with the extra length, the North will also have the capability to fire missiles with longer ranges.

“We believe that the North will use the extended launch site in Dongchang-ri to fire a long-range missile longer than the Unha-3,” a South Korean government official told Yonhap News Agency. “We think (the North) will carry out a provocation around the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers’ Party on Oct. 10.”

The U.N. Security Council has put a ban on North Korea for testing large-scale missile technology, but the country has violated it on multiple accounts.