Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has asserted its right to launch satellites, dismissing accusations that DPRK is intending to hide a missile test. Pyongyang will launch satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 to mark the 100^th birthday of late President Kim Il Sung next month. The official news agency KCNA said yesterday that the peaceful use of space is a universally recognized legitimate right of a sovereign state. It added that satellite launches for scientific research can “by no means be a monopoly of specified countries”. Earlier, DPRK announced that it is ready to invite international observers to monitor the launch.