According to an anonymous Japanese government official, North Korea may be preparing to launch a nuclear capable long-range missile in the coming days, which probably is also part of a “satellite” launch test.
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Citing an unnamed government official, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reports that satellite imagery appears to show Pyongyang preparing to launch a nuclear capable long-range missile from a test site known as Tongchang-ri.
If true, this would be North Korea’s first long-range missile launch since 2012, when it successfully placed an object into Earth orbit. Pyongyang already faces sanctions over its missile programs, and a new test could intensify penalties implemented by the United Nations Security Council.
North Korea is also under intense scrutiny following a nuclear test conducted earlier in January (see: Artificial earthquake for major nuclear test, detected in North Korea). While the North Korean government claimed it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, experts doubt those claims, believing the blast to have been “only” a powerful atomic device.
Regardless, the UN is considering applying additional sanctions in relation to that incident. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
In the meanwhile, Japan vowed to shoot down any missiles or rockets fired over its territory after North Korea announced its plan: “Today the defence minister issued an order” to destroy any projectiles if “confirmed that it will fall on Japanese territory”, the defence ministry said in a statement.
South Korea, in another official release, said Pyongyang will pay a “severe price” if it goes ahead with what the international community sees as a long-range nuclear capable missile test. “We warn that if North Korea proceeds with a long-range rocket launch, the international society will ensure that the North pays searing consequences … as it would constitute a grave threat to the Korean peninsula, the region, and the world,” South Korean official Cho Tae-yong said in televised remarks.
Source, Sputnik: Japan Reports North Korea Readying Long-Range Missile Launch ‘Next Week’