The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Monday that the scheduled launch period for a scientific satellite has been extended to Dec. 29, one week behind the original Dec. 10-22 window.

The delay was due to "technical deficiency" in a rocket engine module, the official KCNA news agency quoted a spokesman for the Korean Committee for Space Technology as saying.

The unnamed spokesman said the hitch was found "in the first-stage control engine module of the rocket carrying the satellite."

The Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite had been scheduled to be launched from the Sohae Space Center in Cholsan County, North Phyongan Province, by the Unha-3 carrier rocket between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22. Pyongyang said it would fully comply with relevant international rules during the launch.

The DPRK launched a Kwangmyongsong-3 on April 13 to mark the 100th birthday of late DPRK founder Kim Il Sung. The long-range rocket crashed into the sea after traveling a short distance.