North Korea could be preparing for an imminent missile test amid a flurry of unusual activity in the hermit state, South Korea and Japan have warned.
Officials in Seoul said a rocket-tracking radar was turned on at a missile base in the North on Monday followed by a large amount of radio chatter, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Tokyo was also placed on alert after radio signals were picked up, with one official telling the Kyodo news agency that a test could take place ‘within the next few days.’
Cho Myoung-gyon, South Korea’s unification minister, confirmed the activity at an event in Seoul on Tuesday as he warned that Kim Jong Un may complete his nuclear programme much sooner than previously thought.
North Korea may be preparing for another missile launch after a rocket-tracking radar was switched on at a known launch site on Monday before a flurry of radio chatter, the South said
Comes as South Korean reunification minister Cho Myoung-gyon warned that Kim Jong Un may develop a viable long-range nuclear weapon within a year (file image)
Mr Cho said there had been ‘noteworthy activity in the North recently’, but said the world would have to ‘wait and see whether it leads to an actual missile test’.
Speaking about Kim’s efforts to develop a viable long-range nuclear weapon, he added: ‘Experts think North Korea will take two to three more years but they are developing their nuclear capabilities faster than expected.
‘We cannot rule out the possibility Pyongyang may declare the completion of their nuclear programme in a year.’
Japan also warned that the latest signals from North Korea might come to nothing, saying they could be from military exercises which the North routinely carries out each winter.
Cho said the frequency of North Korean activity tends to decline noticeably during the winter.
‘If it launched a provocation, North Korea has to put its military on alert, but most of its troops are needed for manual labour for preparation of winter,’ he said.
Other reasons behind the lull could be that Pyongyang simply needs more time to advance its missile programme such as perfecting its re-entry technology, Cho said, or the North Korean leader could be focusing on boosting the economy.
North Korea has already carried out a record 15 missile tests this year which showed it has developed an ICBM which can likely strike most of mainland America
Kim has already carried out a record 15 missile tests this year, including two which were fired over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
The tests also confirmed that North Korea has developed a functioning ICBM, a key step toward creating a nuke that can strike mainland America.
News of another launch would come as a blow to North Korea’s opponents who had hoped that increased sanctions were at least slowing the country’s progress.
After a flurry of missile tests over the summer, Kim last fired a weapon on September 15, despite widely-anticipated launches in October around Labor Day in the US and the Chinese 19th Party Congress.