Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Tuesday that North Korea may be preparing to fire a larger long-range rocket from a launch pad that it recently heightened at a launch facility on its western coast.

"There are enough possibilities that North Korea (can fire a larger one) to achieve its (military) objectives,” Han said during a session held by the National Assembly's National Defense Committee.

According to his ministry, the North raised the height of the launch facility to 67 meters from the previous 50 m at the launch site in Dongchang-ri, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province late last year.

Satellite imagery has shown that Pyongyang has been pushing to upgrade the rocket launch facilities in an apparent move to strengthen its weapons delivery capabilities.

Seoul officials estimate that the three-stage rocket that Pyongyang fired on Feb. 7 has a range of around 12,000 km -- far enough to strike the U.S. mainland.

Meanwhile, Chang Myoung-jin, minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, told parliament that his administration would increase the number of researchers that are working to develop an active electronically scanned array radar to 54 from the current 41 within this year.

The state-run Agency for Defense Development has been developing the radar, a core element of an indigenous fighter jet that the country has been pushing to develop to replace aging combat aircraft. (Yonhap)