Wire: Official Says New Signs of North Korea Missile Preparations

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2009 -- Newswire services this morning that satellites have spotted signs that North Korea may be preparing to transport another long-range missile to a test launch site, South Korean officials said Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

The U.S. issued his harshest warning to the North since its recent nuclear test.

"We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in Asia — or on us," Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told a regional defense meeting in Singapore. He said the North's nuclear program was a "harbinger of a dark future," but wasn't yet a direct threat.

AP noted that since last Monday's nuclear blast, North Korea has test-launched six short-range missiles in a show of force and announced it won't honor a 1953 truce ending fighting in the Korean War.

North Korea appears to be preparing to move a long-range missile by train from a weapons factory near Pyongyang to its northeastern Musudan-ni launch pad, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said. Images of the movements were captured by U.S. satellites, said the official, who was not identified.

This is a developing story.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Source: Official: New signs of NKorea missile preparations

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