A delegation of U.S. Republican congressmen will visit South Korea this week to inspect security conditions, officials said Thursday, as North Korea presses ahead with its plan to launch a long-range rocket.

The five U.S. lawmakers, including Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Richard Burr of North Carolina, are scheduled to arrive in Seoul Friday for a three-day visit during which they will meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, the ministry said in a statement.

They also plan to visit the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas during their visit, it said.

North Korea, despite already being under international sanctions, has said it will go ahead with its planned launch of a long-range rocket to put a satellite into orbit sometime between April 12 and 16. South Korea, the U.S. and other regional powers have condemned the launch as a cover for testing the North’s ballistic missile technology.

Despite international calls to cancel the launch, North Korea appears to be readying the rocket, satellite images show. 

(Yonhap News)