North Korea May Soon Launch New Long-Range Missile

North Korea may carry out a test launch of a long-range ballistic missile in the next two months, S. Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday citing recent intelligence data.

According to Yonhap, S. Korean military has made this conclusion after studying images taken by US satellites that show a marked increase in activity at a N. Korean missile launch site in the northwest of the country.

"After the long-range missile parts were transported to the Dongchang-ri missile launch site early this month, apparent signs of preparations for a missile launch were spotted," Yonhap quoted an unidentified military source as saying.

The source said “there is high possibility of (the North's) firing off the missile between December and January of next year.”

Reports of Pyongyang’s preparations for a ballistic missile test first appeared in Japanese media last week. They were also based on intelligence data obtained by US satellites.
Some political analysts claim that North Korea's suspicious moves are meant to intimidate Japan, South Korea and the United States in talks over the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

In October 2006, North Korea became the world’s eighth nuclear power, conducting an underground nuclear weapons test.

Although the country’s nuclear program and its development of long-range missile systems has been condemned by the international community, Pyongyang has vowed to continue its controversial missile development program.

North Korea has already deployed a number of domestically-built missiles, including some capable of hitting the American territory of Guam in the Pacific, in addition to South Korea and Japan.

In April, North Korea launched its long-range Unha-3 rocket allegedly carrying a satellite on board. Although the rocket failed to put the satellite into orbit, the United States and its allies condemned the launch as a cover for developing intercontinental ballistic missiles.