The Wall Street Journal says North Korea's plan to launch a rocket or missile is being driven by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s "desire to reassert his power over North Korean society."

According to the business daily, Kim apparently has concluded that his authority has weakened in the country due to his recent illness and the rise of market forces, and he wants to demonstrate his power ahead of a meeting of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly.

The newly formed 12th Supreme People's Assembly will again proclaim Mr. Kim as national defense chairman in an inauguration ceremony on April ninth.