With the evidence of domestic technology, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea made most of the key parts of the long-range rocket it launched in December, the Republic of Korea said on Monday.

The DPRK is banned from carrying out missile and nuclear-related activities under UN sanctions and the Security Council is closing on a resolution that will see it punished again for December's launch.

The ROK's Defense Ministry said in a report that the DPRK "is believed to have made a majority of components itself, although it used commercially available products imported from overseas".

The West has claimed that the DPRK's ultimate aim is to design an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, a claim that Pyongyang has repeatedly denied.

The DPRK has continued work on its nuclear testing facilities according to satellite imagery, potentially paving the way for a third nuclear test.

Its two earlier tests, in 2006 and 2009, prompted the UN sanctions.

The ROK retrieved and analyzed parts of the first-stage rocket that dropped in the waters off its west coast.

The ministry's report said that "despite component supply and adoption of advanced technologies being limited due to international sanctions", the DPRK had "increased completion of its long-range missile technology through several tests and experiences".

A ministry official said no components imported by the DPRK appeared to be in breach of the Missile Technology Control Regime, an international norm for missile non-proliferation.

ROK officials have said the DPRK has likely developed the technology to propel a warhead more than 10,000 km.

-Reuters?