SEOUL: All eyes are on North Korea today to see if it marks the birthday of late founder Kim Il-Sung with an expected missile launch, despite tension-reducing noises from Seoul and Washington.
North Korea has a habit of linking high-profile military tests with key dates in its annual calendar. The centenary of Kim’s
birth last year was preceded by a long-range rocket test that ended in failure.North Korea has a habit of linking high-profile military tests with key dates in its annual calendar. The centenary of Kim’s
South Korean intelligence says the North has had two medium-range missiles primed and ready to fire for nearly a week, with many observers tapping today’s anniversary as a likely launch date.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, currently in Japan on the last leg of a whirlwind Northeast Asia tour, warned North Korea when he was in Seoul on Friday that a launch in the current climate would be a “huge mistake”.
The Korean peninsula has been in a state of heightened military tension since the North carried out its third nuclear test this February.
Incensed by fresh UN sanctions and joint South Korea-US military exercises, Pyongyang has spent weeks issuing blistering threats of missile strikes and nuclear war.
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