The U.S. and Japan both urged North Korea to halt preparations for a test-launch of a long-range missile, after Japanese and South Korean news reports said the North had loaded booster rockets onto a launch pad and could test-fire the missile as early as Sunday.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso warned North Korea on Sunday Tokyo would regard any missile that dropped on Japan as an attack, the Reuters news service reported.
"If it is dropped on Japan, it will complicate the story. It will be regarded as an attack," Aso said on a Fuji TV program.
"The possibility is not zero of a missile dropping on Japan. That's why we are worried," Aso said on the program, according to Reuters.
From Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=aRZ.m.E6cPXY
North Korea is accelerating preparations for a long-range missile test, which ``may be imminent'' the Associated Press said, citing an unidentified U.S. government official.
Satellite photos suggest that about 10 fuel tanks were delivered near to Musudan-ri launch pad in the country's northeast North Hamgyong province, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported today, citing an unidentified South Korean government official. Previous satellite images captured a missile on a truck at the launch pad, news reports said.