A Russian nuclear weapons expert says one of the reasons North Korea is trying to launch a satellite is in order to improve its rocket launch technology for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

Vladimir Dvorkin, head of the Moscow-based Center for Strategic Nuclear Forces, said that Pyongyang seems genuine in its pronouncement that it is seeking to launch a satellite and not a missile, but that this may be aimed at reforming its launch technology to extend the range of its ICBMs.

He predicted that such moves by North Korea would raise concerns in China and Japan.

The International Maritime Organization Friday informed its member states of North Korea’s plan to launch its “Gwangmyeongseong Two" communications satellite on its “Eunha Two” rocket between April fourth and eighth.