North Korea says it's planning to launch a satellite-carrying rocket

North Korea has notified the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, that it plans to launch a satellite sometime between Feb. 8 and 25.

The U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia, Daniel Russel, said the planned launch is proof there needs to be tougher UN sanctions against North Korea, the BBC reports. Critics say the launch is cover for a test of ballistic missile technology, though not a complete trial. "Satellite launches do not give North Korea the opportunity to demonstrate a re-entry vehicle capability, the component of a ballistic missile system that would bring a nuclear warhead back down toward its intended target," Andrea Berger of the Royal United Services Institute told the BBC. "Whether or not they have managed to develop that particular capability without having visibly tested it is a question we simply don't have the answer to."

North Korea's last long-range rocket launch was in December 2012. The UN Security Council deemed the launch a "clear violation" of resolutions banning missiles tests by North Korea, and imposed sanctions.

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