Seoul (AFP) - North Korea has undertaken major construction work at its main missile launch site, possibly to cater to larger and more mobile weapons, a US think-tank said Tuesday.

Satellite images taken earlier this month suggest construction of a second flat mobile launch pad at the Sohae missile site, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University posted on its 38 North website.

Work has also been carried out on Sohae's main launch pad, "possibly to upgrade that facility to handle future larger rockets," the post said.

The pad was used for the launch in December of the North's Unha-3 carrier, which successfully placed a satellite in orbit.

The launch was condemned by most in the international community as a disguised ballistic missile test that violated UN sanctions on Pyongyang.

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Graphic showing North Korea's Sohae missile launch site (AFP Photo/)

North Korea insisted it was a purely scientific mission and vowed to push ahead with similar launches in the future.

"Activities related to the upgrading of the Unha launch pad may be completed soon, allowing Pyongyang to proceed with another space launch should it decide to do so," the institute said.

North Korea is currently pushing for a resumption of six-party talks on its nuclear programme, but the United States says it must first demonstrate a commitment to denuclearisation.

Another long-range rocket launch would be taken as a step in the opposite direction and almost certainly result in fresh sanctions.

Last week, the US-Korea Institute said satellite images showed North Korea had built two tunnel entrances at its nuclear test site in a sign it plans more detonations.

NEW YORK (AP) — Candles and flashlights will light up the shore along the East Coast as survivors of Superstorm Sandy pay their respects to what was lost when the storm roared ashore one year ago.

To mark Tuesday's anniversary, residents of coastal neighborhoods in New York and New Jersey that suffered some of the worst flooding are honoring that terrible day in ways both public and private.

On Staten Island, residents will light candles by the stretch of waterfront closest to their homes at 7:45 p.m. in a "Light the Shore" vigil. Along the Jersey Shore, people plan to shine flashlights in a symbolic triumph over the darkness that Sandy brought.

Debbie Fortier, of Brick, N.J., drove to Seaside Park on Tuesday hoping to speak with Gov. Chris Christie. Walking out arm-in-arm with him after he had finished speaking at the firehouse, she told Christie how her family's house had to be torn down and how her family has yet to receive any aid.

"We're physically, emotionally and spiritually just drained," she said after Christie left. "Does anybody hear us?"

Chris Christie: "We have made tremendous progress" …Play video."

She said she is on a waiting list "for everything," and is particularly bitter that her family started to repair their storm-damaged house, only to have inspectors later tell them it was too badly damaged to fix. They then had to knock it down and move into a friend's basement.

"How long am I supposed to wait?" she asked. "It's been a year. You can't just not move forward."

Yet Fortier said she takes Christie at his word that help is on the way — whenever that might be.

The day is stirring up frightening memories for people who survived the waves and wind that lashed their homes.

"People are terrified of the ocean, even though we've lived here all our lives," said Lily Corcoran, who lives in the New York City coastal neighborhood of Belle Harbor. "We're all terrified of the water and what it can do."

Hurricane Sandy: one year later, victims still rec …Play video."

Sandy made landfall at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 29, 2012, sending floodwaters pouring across the densely populated barrier islands of Long Island and the Jersey shore. In New York City the storm surge hit nearly 14 feet, swamping the city's subway and commuter rail tunnels and knocking out power to the southern third of Manhattan.

The storm was blamed for at least 181 deaths in the U.S. — including 68 in New York and 71 in New Jersey — and property damages estimated at $65 billion.

In Rockaway's Breezy Point, where nearly 130 homes burned to the ground after the storm, residents will plant sea grass on sand dunes. Small businesses on Staten Island are hosting a block party to celebrate their recovery and drum up business.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered flags on state buildings to be flown at half-staff on Tuesday. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to tour some of the hardest-hit areas in New York City. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie planned Sandy recovery events across the state.

In Staten Island, where Sandy killed 23 people, there are still plenty of reminders of the storm. Wallboard and debris are piled on front lawns. Bungalows are covered in plywood. "Restricted Use" signs are plastered on many front doors.

Gov. Christie helps many NJ towns mark Sandy anniv …Play video."

Resident Jean Laurie is about to break ground on a new home that will be constructed on stilts 13 feet in the air. Propped up on the grass on her tiny plot of land, mounted on a piece of poster board, are photographs taken of the devastated neighborhood after the storm.

"This is like our archives," Laurie said. "To let people know that this happened. It was here. And we survived."

China jeopardising peace in island row: Japan

Tokyo (AFP) - Beijing is jeopardising peace in a row with Tokyo over disputed islands, Japan's defence minister said Tuesday, days after China warned any bid to shoot down its drones would constitute "an act of war".

Itsunori Onodera's comments are likely to further heighten fears that the two countries could be sliding towards conflict over the outcrops in the East China Sea and come as China showed off its fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and as Japan readies for war games.

"I believe the intrusions by China in the territorial waters around the Senkaku islands fall in the 'grey zone' (between) peacetime and an emergency situation," Onodera told reporters in Tokyo.

The two sides have been at loggerheads over the island chain, which China claims and calls the Diaoyus, since Tokyo bought three of them from their private Japanese owner in September 2012.

But the comments from Onodera following those from China's defence ministry at the weekend, appear to have taken the verbal fisticuffs to a new level.

On Monday, China's coastguard sent four vessels into the waters around the islands, where they stayed for two hours, shadowed by their Japanese counterparts.

That came after three consecutive days in which Tokyo scrambled jets to meet Chinese aircraft as they traversed a strait leading to the Pacific. They did not enter Japanese airspace.

"They were two early-warning aircraft and two bombers," Onodera told reporters on Tuesday.

"It was unusual that so many aircraft flew between the Okinawan main island and Miyako island. We consider that it is also very unusual that it occurred for three days in a row.

"We understand that it is one of the trends showing that China is now vigorously expanding its areas of activities, including into the open ocean."

Tensions likely to increase further

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Graphic showing disputed islands in the East China Sea claimed by Japan and China (AFP Photo/)

Last week it was reported that popular Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had given the green light to plans to fire on any unmanned aircraft that did not heed warnings to leave Japanese airspace.

The report came after an officially unidentified drone was logged on a trajectory towards southern Japan. Privately, policy-makers said there was no doubt it had been Chinese.

China's defence ministry said on Saturday that Japan's firing on its aircraft "would constitute a serious provocation, an act of war of sorts" and vowed "firm countermeasures".

On Tuesday Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters Japan should "stop hyping up the external threat theory and elaborate to the international community the true intent of (its) military buildup".

Akira Kato, professor of defence and security at Obirin University in Tokyo said the two sides appeared to be painting themselves into a corner, and without a diplomatic channel of communication, things could only get worse.

"Since China is unlikely to tone down its stance, tensions are likely to increase further," he said.

"For Tokyo, the Japan-US security alliance is the fallback," he said, referring to the security pact under which the United States must come to Japan's aid if it is attacked.

"The case will be a crucial test to see if the alliance can function."

The Rhetoric from Japan on Tuesday came as Beijing put its nuclear submarines on display, with state media touting the move as unprecedented and necessary to show other countries the full extent of China's strike capabilities.

Tokyo announced last week that it was planning a huge drill on an island hundreds of kilometres (miles) away from the disputed archipelago, starting Friday and intended to sharpen the skills of 34,000 troops in defending -- and retaking -- distant territory.

The recent manoeuvres are the latest in a long line of actions and reactions in the bitter scrap with China, which is putatively about the uninhabited islands but is fuelled by historical animosities and nationalism.

Japan says it incorporated previously unclaimed islands in 1895. China says it has owned them for centuries and their 19th Century annexation by Japan heralded the start of expansionist imperialism that culminated in World War II.


Pacific nations escalate war of words

Japan refuses to back down after days of repeated Chinese activity around disputed islands.
Why things are likely to get worse

The usual scenario involves suspicious glances, inattentive clerks or rude service — not handcuffs.

Yet when a black teen said he was wrongly jailed after buying a $350 belt at a Manhattan luxury store, it struck a nerve in African-Americans accustomed to finding that their money is not necessarily as good as everyone else's. Shopping while black, they say, can be a humiliating experience.

Much attention has been paid to the issue over the years — Oprah Winfrey complained that a Swiss clerk did not think she could afford a $38,000 handbag, and even President Barack Obama has said he was once followed in stores. But according to shoppers interviewed Monday, many people don't recognize how prevalent retail discrimination is, and how the consistent stream of small insults adds up to a large problem.

"It's one thing if you don't understand. But don't ever tell me it doesn't happen to me," said Natasha Eubanks, who shops often at high-end stores in New York City. "You can't assume it doesn't happen just because it doesn't happen to you."

Sometimes, Eubanks said, it takes clerks more than five minutes to simply acknowledge her presence. Or they brush her off after a token greeting. Or they ask her question after question: "You're a black girl up in Chanel. They want to know what you're doing here, and what you do for a living."

She says she has dealt with this type of treatment at least 20 times in New York City.

"I don't look like that typical chick who walks into that type of store," said Eubanks, owner of the celebrity website theYBF.com. "It feels differently than when you go into a store and are treated properly."

Trayon Christian's problem was not how he was treated when he went into Barneys New York — it was what happened afterward. In a lawsuit filed last week, the 19-year-old said that he bought a Ferragamo belt at the Manhattan store, and when he left he was accosted by undercover city police officers.

According to the lawsuit, police said Christian "could not afford to make such an expensive purchase." He was arrested and detained, though he showed police the receipt, the debit card he used and identification, the lawsuit said.

After Christian's lawsuit was filed, another black Barneys shopper said she was accused of fraud after purchasing a $2,500 handbag, and the black actor Robert Brown said he was paraded through Macy's in handcuffs and detained for an hour after being falsely accused of credit card fraud.

For Yvonne Chan, the reports were a painful reminder of when she worked in a liquor store in a predominantly white Massachusetts town. Every few months someone would be caught stealing, and about half the time it was a black person.

"You find yourself watching black people. (The stealing) only happens once in a while, but it changes your perception," Chan said.

Chan, a graduate student, always tried to remind herself not to act on stereotypes, but, "Like it or not, I'm going to have a preconceived notion of races from my experiences. As much as I would like to force my brain not to think like that and put everyone on an even playing field, stereotypes play a role in our society ... we skew the view of people as individuals."

Those skewed views can affect who gets arrested for retail theft, said Jerome Williams, a business professor at Rutgers University who has studied marketplace discrimination.

Many people justify racial profiling by saying that black customers are more likely to steal. But one study has shown that white women in their 40s engaged in more shoplifting than other demographic groups, Williams said.

"The reason they don't show up in crime statistics is because people aren't watching them," said Williams.

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Pedestrians pass Barneys New York department store Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, in New York. The scenario …

Statistics showing that black customers steal more "are not really an indication of who's shoplifting," he said. "It's a reflection of who's getting caught. That's a reflection of who's getting watched. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Dido Kanyandekwe knows he is being watched. "But I joke with them; I see them looking at me and I say, 'Hello, I see you!' And I wave," said the 18-year-old college student in New York City, who was in Barneys on Monday buying a $600-plus pair of Italian designer sneakers.

"Most black people don't have the money to buy stuff at Barneys," said Kanyandekwe, the son of wealthy parents, before paying for the black leather shoes with a credit card. "But that does not mean all black people are not able to buy these things."

Black people are not the only ones who can face unequal treatment in stores. Hispanics have made the same complaints. And Sher Graham, a white woman who lives in Mobile, Ala., says black servers in the fast-food restaurants she visits often wait on black customers first.

A few months ago, she said, a black cashier started talking to black women standing in line behind her about their order. "When I brought this to her attention, she just shrugged her shoulders and completely ignored me. This action happens more times than not here in the Gulf Coast region," Graham, a consultant and speaker, said in an email interview.

Yet if the number of complaints is any guide, the experience is most common for African-Americans.

Candace Witherspoon, a wardrobe stylist in Los Angeles, went to a store in Century City last April to buy a purse and shop for one of her celebrity clients. She was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. In a letter to the company, Witherspoon said the sales associate barely greeted her, then ignored her, in contrast with her treatment of white patrons.

"As the other customers left, she said 'Thanks ladies for shopping. Have a good day.' When I left she gave me a nasty look and didn't say anything," Witherspoon's letter said.

Toni Duclottni, who runs a fashion web site in Los Angeles, recently went to a Beverly Hills department store intending to spend about $4,000 on shoes. But she took her business elsewhere after being ignored.

"It's frustrating to be constantly ignored and people pretend it doesn't happen," she said.

To her, the solution is simple.

"They rush to judgment, they jump into it assuming something without speaking to a person," Duclottni said. "They'd be surprised if they just walked up and said, "Hello, can I help you find something?' They'd be surprised."

___

Associated Press writer Verena Dobnik in New York contributed to this report.

___

Jesse Washington covers race and ethnicity for The Associated Press. He is reachable at http://www.twitter.com/jessewashington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trayvon Martin's mother told a panel of senators Tuesday that state stand your ground self-defense laws do not work and must be amended, reviving the politically charged gun control issue.

Democrats who hold majority power in the Senate and are trying to keep it supported Sybrina Fulton's call. Republicans, led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, said the matter should be left to the states that passed the laws.

"The states are doing quite well...without our interference," Rep. Louie Gohmert testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Said Cruz: "This is not about politicking. This is not about inflaming racial tensions. This is about the right of everyone to protect themselves and protect their families." Cruz made reference to statistics he said which show that blacks cite stand your ground laws at least as often as whites

But race and politics were woven into the event and in the broader public policy debate. There's little willingness in Congress to weigh in on the laws of 22 states that have some form of the policy. These laws generally cancel a person's duty to retreat in the face of a serious physical attack.

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Witnesses, from left, Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin; Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr., Clinical Pr …

But members of Congress are busily engaged in their re-election efforts for next year's midterms, with 35 seats at stake in the Senate, all 435 seats in the GOP-controlled House and the majorities of both chambers hanging in the balance. Gun control is a politically divisive issue, more so in the wake of mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., the Washington Navy Yard and more.

The 2012 shooting death of Martin, 17 and unarmed, and the acquittal this year of neighborhood watch volunteer George, Zimmerman stirred racial tensions and sparked debate over stand your ground laws in Florida and at least 21 other states.

Martin's mother told the panel that she attended the hearing so senators can "at least put a face with what has happened with this tragedy."

"I just wanted to come here to...let you know how important it is that we amend this stand your ground because it certainly did not work in my case," Fulton said, speaking without consulting prepared remarks. "The person that shot and killed my son is walking the streets today. This law does not work."

Lucia Holman McBath, the mother of Jordan Russell Davis, implored the Senate to resolve the nation's debate. Her son, 17-year old Jordan, was shot and killed nearly a year ago when Michael David Dunn, 46, allegedly opened fire on a Dodge Durango with four teenagers inside after complaining of their loud music and saying he saw a gun and thus a threat. Jordan had been inside. Authorities never found a gun in the vehicle, the Florida Times-Union reported. Dunn's trial is set for next year.

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Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 29, …

"You can lift this nation from its internal battle in which guns rule over right," McBath told the panel.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 22 states have laws that allow that "there is no duty to retreat (from) an attacker in any place in which one is lawfully present." The states are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia, according to the NCSL.

At least nine of those state laws include language stating one may "stand his or her ground": Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, according to the NCSL.