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North Korea reportedly begins fuelling rocket


    SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has begun fuelling a long-range rocket it plans to launch between April 4-8, CNN said, starting a process that experts say means the rocket will be ready for lift-off in three to four days.

    South Korea, Japan and the United States see the planned launch as a test of North Korea's longest-range missile, the Taepodong-2, and have said it would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions imposed after an earlier exercise in 2006.

    The U.S. news broadcaster quoted a senior U.S. military official as saying North Korea had begun fuelling its long-range rocket, according to a report on its website seen in Seoul on Thursday.

    North Korea has said it is putting a satellite into orbit as part of its peaceful space programme.

    The launch will be the first big challenge for U.S. President Barack Obama in dealing with the prickly North, whose efforts to build a nuclear arsenal have long plagued ties with Washington.

    (Writing by Jon Herskovitz, Editing by Dean Yates)