Japan said it has intelligence indicating that North Korea might be preparing to test fire a short-range missile, in what would be the latest provocation from the communist country.
Government officials convened an emergency task-force team in the prime minister's office yesterday after intelligence showed that North Korea appears to be beefing up troops and equipment around missile launch bases, said Shigemi Terui, a spokesman at the prime minister's office.
Media reports citing government officials said an immediate launch was not expected. South Korea said missile-related activities had been detected in the North by the US and South Korean militaries.
"There is a high possibility that these were part of the annual, routine activities of North Korean missile units," Rhee Bong-jo, the deputy unification minister, said in Seoul.
Nam Dae-yeon, spokesman of South Korea's Defense Ministry, said: "We cannot rule out a possibility of a missile launch, so South Korean and US intelligence authorities are working closely together to follow the movements."
Terui said the task force was gathering more information.
North Korea test fired a ballistic Taepodong-1 missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean in 1998.
The unpredictable communist nation also test fired short-range, land-to-ship missiles into the ocean on at least three occasions last year during an international standoff over its nuclear weapons program.
Japan's daily Yomiuri Shimbun yesterday reported that officials believed North Korea was preparing to launch a short-range Nodong missile or possibly a long-range Taepodong.
Nodong missiles have a range of about 1,300km, while the Taepodong is believed to have a 2,480km range. Most of Japan's four main islands fall within the range of both missiles.
The developments also come as the US prepares to launch a new mission patrolling the Sea of Japan with AEGIS-equipped destroyers to monitor any missile launches -- an effort widely seen as aimed at keeping watch over North Korea.
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