North Korea on Monday extended the window for its planned rocket launch by one week, in order to deal with a "technical deficiency" with the first stage of the carrier, AFP reported.

North Korea on Monday extended the window for its planned rocket launch by one week, in order to deal with a "technical deficiency" with the first stage of the carrier, AFP reported.

According to the news agency, the original December 10-22 window was extended to December 29, the Korean Committee of Space Technology said in a statement.

The statement which was first carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, stressed that “scientists and technicians were still pushing forward with preparations for the mission.”

“They, however, found technical deficiency in the first-stage control engine module of the rocket... and decided to extend the launch period," it said.

North Korea says the rocket launch is a peaceful mission aimed at putting a satellite in orbit.