Pyongyang says the rocket, to be launched this week, will only carry a weather satellite, but South Korea and the United States say it is a test of a ballistic missile. And although the risk of it veering off course is low, guidance remains its weakest point.

In a rare move, reporters were taken to the new Sohae launch station, close to the border with China, where work was in progress to ready the 30-metre high Unha-3 rocket and its satellite.

The three-stage rocket was on the launch platform, indicating the launch will go ahead on plan between April 12-16.

“Supreme Commander Kim Jong-un made a very bold decision, that is why you are allowed to be this close to the launch site,” site director Jang Myong Jin told visiting foreign journalists on Sunday.

North Korea announced plans to launch the satellite-bearing rocket to coincide with the 100th birthday celebrations of its founder, Kim Il-sung, a move that will help cement the prestige of his grandson Kim Jong-un, who took power in December.

The second stage booster is planned to separate in the seas to the west of the Philippines, about 3,000 km (1,860 miles) from the launch site, and experts say that represents the first possible landfall for the rocket if things go wrong.

If North Korea does achieve a successful separation of the third stage – something it says it achieved in 2009, but most experts say failed to put a previous satellite into orbit – that would show it had improved its technology and the capacity to produce a missile that could carry an intercontinental nuclear warhead.

Pyongyang has also shifted its launch site, and the new, more sophisticated site on the west of the Korean peninsula reduces the risk of debris falling on Japan, which was overflown in a previous test-launch of a missile.

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Graphics on North Korea’s rocket and missiles: link.reuters.com/fyg57s

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This launch will take the rocket down the west coast of the Korean peninsula. Japan, which fears a repeat of a 2009 firing over its territory, has put its missile batteries on alert to shoot the rocket down.

“They have come pretty far on the question of range, but they still need a lot to resolve in the precision technology needed for (warhead) re-entry and guidance,” a South Korean military official who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

The Unha-3 is likely the same three-stage liquid-fueled ballistic missile the North fired in 2009 over Japan which eventually splashed down after a 3,800 km flight, military experts in South Korea said.

The new rocket is believed to have a design range of more than 6,700 km (4,160 miles), and can carry a payload of up to 1,000 kg.

At its closest point, Alaska in the United States is about 5,000 km from North Korea.

The launch will be the first at the Sohae rocket station, construction of which began in 2007. It is a large, sophisticated facility with specialized assembly and transport, according to analysis from military specialist consultancy IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly.

LITTLE RISK

While most international observers doubt that the Unha-2 rocket launched in 2009 managed to put a satellite into orbit, few experts believe there is a high risk the Unha-3 will land on a densely populated urban area.

The biggest risks are a massive failure of the guidance system that could send the rocket north over China, the North’s main political and economic backer, or the destruct mechanism not functioning if it does veer off course, said Markus Schiller from Schmucker Technologie in Munich, an expert on North Korean missile systems.

“There always is a residual risk, of course, that several things might go wrong and lead to unforeseen disaster … but this risk is very low, actually approaching zero,” Schiller said in an emailed response to questions.

“It is far more likely that the rocket itself fails and blows apart.”

The launch site is located 50 km (30 miles) from North Korea’s border with China.

“The worst case scenario is it strays into China or South Korea if the rocket goes out of control,” said an expert on rocket technology at a South Korean state-run research institute, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

While North Korea’s 23 million people live in poverty and many are at risk of malnutrition, the prestige of developing rocket technology and nuclear weapons capacity is the most important issue for Pyongyang, which sees it as a deterrent against invasion.

The North is believed to have stockpiled enough fissile material to manufacture up to 10 nuclear bombs and South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Sunday it was preparing for a third nuclear test.

Government officials in South Korea have calculated the North is spending $19 million on this launch.

“I believe North Korea is developing many technologies simultaneously – technologies on rocket that can deliver nuclear warheads, materials that can cope with high temperature when reentering the atmosphere and on the miniaturization of nuclear bombs,” said the South Korean rocket expert.

(Additional reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by David Chance and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

The two grew up surrounded by vegetables in China’s central Anhui province, but their music teacher father encouraged them to learn conventional instruments from a young age. As teenagers, they joined a local theatrical troupe.

But it wasn’t until two years ago that they thought of making instruments out of vegetables, an idea that has fascinated them ever since.

They now live and work in a narrow Beijing apartment, drilling holes in carrots, marrows, lotus roots and Chinese yams and testing the pitch against an old electronic tuner — nibbling silently on the shavings all the while.

A sweet potato becomes a perky ocarina, a bamboo shoot a mellow, reedy flute. A row of carrots tied upright to leeks is transformed into a set of Chinese panpipes.

“The deeper the hole, the lower the pitch. The shallower the hole, the higher the pitch,” said pony-tailed Nan Weiping, at age 41 the younger by two years.

“The size of the holes also matters to guarantee the quality of the sound. The leeks only serve as decoration.”

But controlling the pitch is extremely difficult, he added, with changes in the air temperature and humidity potentially warping the shape of the holes, putting the notes out of tune.

Their repertoire is as varied as their instruments, ranging from traditional Chinese flute music to Western songs such as Auld Lang Syne.

The two have appeared on numerous talent shows in China and often receive payments of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan ($4,800 to $7,900) for a performance — their sole income. Each show requires making a whole new set of instruments.

Though the size and shape of the vegetables is important, the utmost importance is placed on freshness, said Nan Weidong.

“If the water content in vegetables evaporates, the tune will become higher than the basic tune, or even out of tune. Therefore we choose vegetables with as much water content as possible,” he said.

“The vegetables have to be solid and hard. We can’t use vegetables left over for days. They are too soft to be played.”

(Additional reporting by Haze Fan and Jimmy Guan; Editing by Elaine Lies and Paul Tait)

The 22-year-old is one of a small, select group of Chinese women training to become protectors for wealthy businesswomen and their families as demand grows steadily in the face of a widening wealth gap, which makes safety a prime concern for some of China’s richest citizens.

“In China, the market for male bodyguards is growing steadily. However, a social and market preference for female bodyguards has increased since last year,” said Chen Yongqing, manager at the Tianjiao Special Guard and Security Company in Beijing.

“Many female entrepreneurs, celebrities and pop stars — as well as their family members, children and parents — all need female bodyguards for protection. So we are particularly focusing on training female bodyguards from this year.”

Around 30 percent of China’s millionaires are women, according to the Hurun Report, which publishes an annual China rich list.

In testimony to the rising profile of female bodyguards, Faye Wong, a pop singer from Hong Kong, was escorted by both male and female guards at a recent Beijing charity event.

Sun is one of 10 women picked from 20 candidates for a four-week initiation course at the Tianjiao school, which also offers eight-month courses of stamina training, martial arts, reconnaissance, escorting skills, language and business etiquette.

The women, dressed in camouflage, practice sparring and kicking and learn how to disarm attackers wielding guns or knives.

Stoically, they stand in a line as an instructor smashes bottles over their heads as part of endurance training. Glass flies, but the women barely flinch.

Trainees must also hone their driving skills, Chen said.

“To protect an important person, special driving skills are indispensable. Driving takes up to 40 percent of the time during our missions, because the person we protect is always linked to the car when they are not working or resting,” he added.

Graduates of the course can look forward to a well-paid career with a minimum monthly salary of 5,000 yuan, often earning much more than their male counterparts.

Pride also plays a role, with Sun saying she was eager to break stereotypes.

“In China, women are seen as a vulnerable group, and society always looks down on them,” she said.

“However, almost everyone looks at a female bodyguard in a different way. As a woman, I’m very proud to be able to protect a man or even a group of people.”

(Writing by Elaine Lies; editing by Paul Casciato)

Tian Tian and Yang Guang — whose names in English are Sweetie and Sunshine — arrived at Edinburgh airport after flying in from Chengdu, Sichuan province, and were later greeted at Edinburgh zoo by around 450 people waving Chinese and Scottish flags.

“Scotland’s relationship with China is hugely important and the pandas represent a fantastic opportunity to deepen our business, cultural and diplomatic ties,” said Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Since the 1950s, China has given away pandas as gestures of goodwill in what has come to be known as “panda diplomacy.”

Modern China gave its first pair of giant pandas to Britain in 1974.

British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “I know that a huge amount of work has gone into securing their loan and they will be a great showcase for UK-China links in science and research.”

Afforded a reception worthy of a state visit, the bears’ journey on a private plane was no less extravagant, with four crew members, two attendants, one veterinarian and a cargo handler among the retinue.

Ahead of the flight, veterinarian Tang Chunxiang said he was worried about the pandas’ nerves and fear of flying.

“They might get air sick, they may get a bit dizzy on the plane,” he said. “…if there is any problem, we have brought some simple medicine.”

Visible through clear containers after being unloaded from the plane, the bears appeared nonplussed by the fanfair, one munching on food calmly as a photographer snapped away nearby.

The eight-year-old pair, raised at the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center in Ya’an, Sichuan, will become Britain’s first pair of breeding pandas in 17 years.

Iain Valentine, director of conservation and research at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, was pleased that five years of negotiation with the Chinese authorities had finally paid off.

“This is the exciting bit, this is the bit I have been waiting for a very long time,” he said.

Tian Tian and Yang Guang will not go on display at Edinburgh Zoo for at least a week, until they have settled into their new surrounds. They will remain there for 10 years, after which they, and any young they have, will be returned to China.

Edinburgh Zoo said that, as part of the loan deal, it would pay $1 million a year to China, 90 percent of which would pay for conservation and genetics research. The zoo will also have to find up to 70,000 pounds a year to provide around 18,000 kg (almost 20 tons) of bamboo shoots, most of which will come from a special nursery outside Amsterdam.

Considered a national treasure, the giant panda is seen as having come back from the brink of extinction, but remains under threat from logging, agriculture and rapid urbanization.

There are an estimated 1,600 living wild in China, almost all in Sichuan. Around 300 are in captivity around the world, the vast majority of them inside China.

Pandas are notoriously difficult to breed because females ovulate only once a year and can only become pregnant during a two- or three-day period.

(Additional reporting by Samuel Shen and Mohammed Abbas; Editing by Nick Macfie and Alessandra Rizzo)

Tian Tian and Yang Guang – whose names in English are Sweetie and Sunshine – were lifted gently on board a plane in custom-built containers at Chengdu airport in China’s southwestern Sichuan province.

“There are four crew members, two attendants, one veterinarian and one cargo handler, and they’ll be taking very close care (of them) just like first class passengers on any airline,” said Paul Cassel of FedEx.

“All of us will be able to go back and look after them, make sure that they’re happy and secure and that their ride is secure, just like on any passenger airline.”

Veterinarian Tang Chunxiang said he was worried about the pandas’ nerves and fear of flying.

“They might get air sick, they may get a bit dizzy on the plane,” he said. “…if there is any problem, we have brought some simple medicine.”

The eight-year-old pair, who have been raised at the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Centre in Ya’an, Sichuan, will become Britain’s first pair of breeding pandas in 17 years.

Iain Valentine, director of conservation and research at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, was pleased that five years of negotiation with the Chinese authorities had finally paid off.

“This is the exciting bit, this is the bit I have been waiting for a very long time,” he said. “It’s just lovely to see them now safely on the plane. And now we’re on to the next bit of the journey,”

Since the 1950s, China has given away pandas as gestures of goodwill in what has come to be known as “panda diplomacy.”

Modern China gave its first pair of giant pandas to Britain in 1974.

Tian Tian and Yang Guang won’t go on display at Edinburgh Zoo for at least a week, until they have settled in to their new surrounds.

They will remain there for ten years, after which they, and any young they have, will return to the motherland.

Considered a national treasure, the giant panda is seen as having come back from the brink of extinction, but remains under threat from logging, agriculture and rapid urbanization.

There are an estimated 1,600 living wild in China, almost all in Sichuan. Around 300 are in captivity around the world, the vast majority of them inside China.

Pandas are notoriously difficult to breed because females ovulate only once a year and can only become pregnant during a two- or three-day period.

(Additional reporting by Samuel Shen; Editing by Nick Macfie.)

If you would like to make your own ice sculpture, please follow the simple instructions in the video below.

Note: for those wishing to replicate the gargantuan castles and temples in the Ice and Snow World , we suggest you seek professional advice at the festival itself.