Another North Korean rocket launch may soon occur, as satellite footage shows increased activity at the Tonghae rocket test site. In an analysis for 38 North, Nick Hansen states that the North could be modifying the site in order to launch intermediate or long-range rockets, or could even be planning to attempt another Unha rocket launch similar to last December’s. When completed, Hansen speculates that rockets “three to four times the size of the Unha” could be launched from the site, though he does not expect that to occur until at least 2016. Other construction activity at Tonghae indicates that the North may be receiving assistance from Iran.

Reuters also published a report that the North has told China that it may conduct a fourth and fifth nuclear test, as well as another long-range rocket launch, by the end of this year. The unnamed source told Reuters the tests will be undertaken unless Washington enters negotiations with the North and ends its attempts at regime change. NK NEWS has discussed the problem with Reuters' articles based on a single, unnamed source, though it was not clear if this article was based on the same source from the past. However, following the nuclear test a spokesman for the North's Foreign Ministry said, "If the U.S. takes a hostile approach toward the DPRK to the last, rendering the situation complicated, it will be left with no option but to take the second and third stronger steps in succession," which some analysts believe is an implicit threat of further tests.