US intelligence believes North Korea may be setting up for another missile test, possibly as soon as tomorrow.
A US defense official told AFP the latest test could happen as soon as tomorrow, the Victory Day public holiday in North Korea, but other sources say it is likely “within the next two weeks”.
South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Seoul “had seen North Korea moving transporter erector launchers carrying ICBM launch tubes in North Pyongan province”.
CNN reports US satellites detected new imagery and radar emissions which indicate testing of components and missile control facilities.
Yonhap also reported an 1,800-ton North Korean submarine was spotted in the Sea of Japan which “may be collecting data” to prepare for a test-launch from the North’s largest submarine.
The test will likely be for an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or intermediate range missile test. North Korea successfully launched an ICBM on July 4 which had the range to hit Alaska or northern Australia.
Two weeks later, North Korea celebrated the test with a giant concert featuring pyrotechnics, an orchestra, and a simulation video of its missile destroying the entire US mainland.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly claimed it was a gift to the “American bastards”.
While Moscow denied the launch was of an ICBM, China has spent the past three weeks negotiating with the US over possible sanctions it might impose on the Hermit Kingdom.
It has recently significantly ramped up the defence brigade along its 1400km border with North Korea, implementing 24-hour video surveillance and building bunkers to protect from possible nuclear or chemical attacks.
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