North Korea moves missile to east coast: report

North Korea moves missile to east coast: report

  North Korea appears to have moved a
medium range missile capable of hitting targets in South Korea
and Japan to its east coast, the South's Yonhap news agency
reported today.
    The movement was detected by both South Korean and US
intelligence, Yonhap said, citing military and government
sources.
    "It appeared that the object was a Musudan mid-range
missile," it quoted one South Korean official as saying.
    "We are closely monitoring whether the North moved it with
a view to actual launch or just as a show of force against the
US," the official added.
    Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper also carried a similar
report.
    The Musudan missile was first unveiled at a military
parade in October 2010 and is believed to have an intended
range of around 3,000 kilometres. However, it is not known to
have been tested.
    Yonhap cited intelligence sources as saying the North
might launch the missile on April 15, the birth anniversary of
founding leader Kim Il-Sung.
    The South Korean Defence Ministry declined to confirm the
report, but stressed that it kept a "24-hour watch" for any
potential North Korean missile launches.
    "We believe there is always an open possibility for a
missile launch and related measures have been prepared,"
ministry spokesman Wi Yong-Seop told reporters without
elaborating.
    The United States said yesterday it was sending
ground-based missile interceptors to Guam in response to North
Korean threats to strike the Pacific island and other US
targets.
    A US territory that is home to 6,000 American military
personnel, submarines and bombers, Guam lies 3,380 kilometres
southeast of North Korea.
    Experts say the Musudan could theoretically be pushed to
such a range, but the lack of tests means it lacks any proven
strike capability, even on targets closer to home.