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(2nd LD) N. Korea preparing to test medium-range missile on east coast
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 2 (Yonhap) — North Korea appears to be preparing to test-fire a medium-range missile on its east coast, a South Korean lawmaker said Tuesday after being briefed by top defense officials.
The lawmaker, who declined to be identified, also confirmed the officials believe that the North has transferred what appears to be its longest-range ballistic missile to a launch site in the west.
“We've been briefed that an intercontinental ballistic missile was moved to Dongchang-ri last week” from a munitions factory near Pyongyang, the lawmaker said.
The legislator visited the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul earlier Tuesday along with other members of the parliamentary national security committee for a meeting with Minister Lee Sang-hee.
The lawmaker also told several journalists North Korea was preparing to test-launch a medium-range missile at a base in Anbyeon, Gangwon Province.
The province is shared by the Koreas, which remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce. North Korea fired six short-range missiles on its east coast last week after conducting its second nuclear test on May 25.
“North Korea may go ahead with simultaneous launches,” the lawmaker said, declining to comment on the estimated range of the missiles or when a launch might be likely.
North Korea is believed to have about 800 missiles, including ones capable of reaching a U.S. military base in Guam, which is about 3,000 kilometers from the communist country.
Intermediate-range ballistic missiles have been deployed but still need to be tested, according to South Korean defense officials. The North has completed the testing of its Rodong missiles capable of flying 1,300 kilometers.
North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in October 2006, prompting the U.N. to pass a resolution banning the country from further atomic and missile testing.
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