NK installing all three stages of rocket into position: source

North Korea has completed placing the second stage of its three-stage, long-range rocket into position and is installing the third stage on its launch pad, a government source said Tuesday, in the latest indication Pyongyang will push ahead with the launch in defiance of international warnings.

"North Korea completed installing the second-stage rocket into position and appears to be working to place the third stage in position," the source said on condition of anonymity.

North Korean scientists are expected to complete erecting all three stages of the rocket as early as Wednesday, according to the source.

Satellite photos could not detect the North's preparations because the rocket was veiled, but the South Korean government confirmed the process of installation using "intelligence assets" from South Korea and the U.S., the source said.

The North's preparations for the rocket launch were progressing faster than originally expected, the source said, suggesting that Pyongyang may carry out the launch in the early part of its given 13-day window.

North Korea announced Saturday it will launch a long-range rocket between Dec. 10 and 22 to put what it calls a "working satellite" into orbit, with much of the world suspecting it is in reality testing intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The planned launch will be the North's second launch attempt under current leader Kim Jong-un, following a failed launch in April. The young leader took power following his father's death last December.

On Monday, North Korea notified the U.N. shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, about the launch.

Coordinates provided by Pyongyang showed the rocket's first stage would fall into the Yellow Sea between the Korean Peninsula and China and the second stage drop-off would take place off the Philippines. (Yonhap)