North Korea 'poised to test advanced missile'
North Korea appears to be preparing to test an advanced missile designed to reach the United States, a US official said, ratcheting up tensions after its second nuclear blast.
Media reports said the North Korean leader’s youngest son has been picked to be the next leader.
The reclusive communist country also reportedly bolstered its defences and conducted amphibious assault exercises along its western shore, near disputed waters where deadly naval clashes with the South have occurred in the past decade.
Satellite images and other intelligence indicated the North had transported its most advanced long-range missile to the new Dongchang-ni facility near China and it could be ready to be fired in the next week or so, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
A US official confirmed the Yonhap report and said the missile was moved by train, although he did not comment on where it was moved to, and said it could be more than a week before Pyongyang was ready to launch.
Today, Seoul’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that the North could have manufactured up to four long-range missiles through the end of last year. That means the regime could fire more missiles after the one being readied for a launch.
Also today, South Korean media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s youngest son, Jong Un, has been picked to be the reclusive nation’s next leader.
The decision came after the nuclear test and North Korean diplomats have been instructed to respect the decision, the Hankook Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo reported.
Little is known about the 26-year-old man. He studied at the International School of Berne in Switzerland until 1998, learning to speak English, German and French, the Swiss weekly news magazine L’Hebdo reported in March, citing classmates and school officials.
The reports about the possible leadership succession come amid growing tensions stoked by the nuclear and missile tests.
The latest activity at the launch site came as the United Nations Security Council mulled punitive action for North Korea’s May 25 nuclear test, and ahead of a June 16 summit in Washington between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and President Barack Obama.
US Ambassador Susan Rice reported yesterday that key powers are making progress on a new UN resolution that will almost certainly expand sanctions against North Korea for conducting a second nuclear test in defiance of the Security Council.
Complicating the situation further, a trial was set to begin on Thursday in Pyongyang of two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, accused of entering the country illegally and engaging in “hostile acts”.
The missile being prepared for launch was believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of up to 4,000 miles, the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported.
That distance would put Alaska and US bases on the Pacific island of Guam - along with all of Japan – within striking range.
