N Korea prepares missile launch
South Korea's defence ministry yesterday said it had detected signs that North Korea was preparing a ballistic missile launch, as Japan reportedly put its military on intercept alert.
UN resolutions ban North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology, although it regularly fires short-range missiles into the sea off its east coast.
Tensions have been running high on the divided Korean peninsula since the North's fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a long-range rocket launch the following month.
And in recent weeks Pyongyang has voiced anger at Seoul's refusal to accept repeated offers of military talks to de-escalate the situation.
"We are tracking signs that North Korea is preparing a ballistic missile test and are maintaining combat readiness," a defence ministry official told AFP.
The official did not specify the missile type, but the fact that signs of a launch had been detected would point to a medium-range missile or larger.
In April the North tried and failed three times to test-fire a powerful new mid-range missile known as a Musudan.
In Tokyo, public broadcaster NHK said the Japanese government had put its military on alert for a possible launch, with orders to intercept any missile that threatened Japanese territory.
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