SEOUL – South Korea’s defence ministry said Monday 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.
In recent weeks Pyongyang has voiced anger over 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, which is capable of striking US bases on the Pacific island of Guam.
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.
Under the order, the Self-Defence Forces will deploy Aegis destroyers equipped with missile interceptors offshore and PAC-3 surface-to-air anti-ballistic missiles, NHK said.
A Japanese defence ministry spokeswoman declined to confirm the news reports.
