North Korea is unlikely to launch a rocket Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party, Seoul officials and experts said Tuesday, noting that there were no signs yet of Pyongyang’s preparations for any imminent launch.

The prediction came as Seoul has been stepping up diplomacy to prevent the communist regime from conducting yet another provocation that would strain cross-border relations and plunge it into deeper isolation.

“Currently, there are no signs of any imminent rocket launch such as the transportation of rocket bodies (to a launch site),” a senior official at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry told reporters on the condition of anonymity.

“We understand that after moving the rocket bodies (to the launch site), it usually takes two to four weeks to launch a rocket. We think the anniversary event may proceed in a festive mood, without any announcement of any new policy.”

A day earlier, 38 North, a North Korea monitoring website, also said that the communist regime might not carry out any rocket launch this week.

“I think the bottom line here is that all these reports about possible long-range rocket or nuclear tests on or before Oct. 10th are just all wrong, all speculation. No evidence to support it whatsoever,” Joel Wit, one of the chief analysts of 38 North, said during a press conference.

“I would even go as far to say that the North Koreans are probably having a lot of fun with their periodic interviews, talking about how it’s their right to launch a space-launch vehicle and explore space and everyone runs off and writes a story about it as if it’s going to happen tomorrow.”

The website has been analyzing commercial satellite imagery of the North’s Dongchang-ri launch site in North Pyongan Province, where there have been construction activities to improve the facilities at the site.

Wit said that the new buildings at the launch site may be under construction to test larger engines, which could be used for larger rockets with longer ranges.

Stressing that it has the sovereign right for “peaceful space development,” Pyongyang has hinted at the possibility that it would launch a satellite to mark the anniversary.

The North last launched a rocket, under the pretext of a satellite launch, in December 2012. Expert suggest that the North might feel the “technical need” to launch another rocket to further advance its missile technology.

Pyongyang has already come a long way in its missile development. The rocket, which was last fired by the North, is believed have a terrestrial range of some 10,000 kilometers -- far enough to strike the U.S. mainland.

During a military parade to mark the anniversary day, the reclusive state is expected to show off a series of its new weapons systems, including a submarine-launched ballistic missile, which it said it was pushing to develop.

“A large number of military personnel and weapons systems were expected to be mobilized for the parade,” the Unification Ministry official said. “The North might also show off new weapons that have not been disclosed to the public.”

Meanwhile, a flurry of diplomatic efforts are ongoing to prevent the rocket launch.

China has decided to send a delegation led by Liu Yunshan, one of the top officials of its Communist Party, to the North’s anniversary event Saturday, apparently as part of efforts to improve bilateral relations and help deter North Korean provocations.

Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken came to Seoul and met with Seoul’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo and other Seoul officials. Their discussions focused on joint efforts to address North Korea-related issues including its nuclear program.

Yukiya Amano, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency also arrived here Tuesday to discuss joint cooperation to stop the growth of the North’s nuclear program. He met with Yun and other top Seoul officials here.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)