SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea is believed to have placed a new, powerful midrange missile on standby for an impending launch, a news report said Tuesday.
The reported launch plans came two days after North Korea said it had successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in a continuation of its weapons tests amid ongoing South Korea-U.S. military drills. Seoul officials said they could not confirm whether Saturday’s test-firing was a success.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified Seoul official as saying Tuesday that the country’s military had unspecified evidence indicating North Korea would likely soon launch a midrange Musudan missile.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry said it had no such intelligence. South Korean officials often refuse to discuss North Korea’s weapons systems publicly because they involve confidential military intelligence.
Yonhap said the missile on standby is one of two Musudan missiles North Korea had earlier deployed in the northeast before it fired one earlier this month.