Rocket Launch to Cost NK $500 Million

North Korea may have spent nearly $500 million to build the long-range rocket it plans to launch within days, the head of a Seoul-based think tank said Wednesday, citing leader Kim Jong-il's remarks on a previous launch.

Nam Sung-wook based his estimate on remarks Kim made during his summit with then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in 2000. Nam is a former advisor to incumbent South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and director of the Institute for National Security Strategy, an arm of the National Intelligence Service.

At that time, the North Korean leader said that Pyongyang had spent between $200 million and $300 million to launch what it called the "Kwangmyongsong-1" satellite in 1998, Yonhap News Agency said, quoting Nam.

"He himself had told that to Seoul officials, and we have reached the assumption that it has now cost up to $500 million, considering that equipment costs must have risen," Nam said in a meeting with reporters.