North Korea has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready
status and moved them from their position on the country's
east coast, US officials told Reuters, after weeks of concern
that Pyongyang had been poised for a test-launch.
North Korea says a Korean-American tourist who has been held
in prison by the reclusive state since late last year will
face trial for "committing crimes" against the North, a move
that could further stoke tensions with the United States.
North Korea has moved two short-range missile launchers to
its east coast, apparently indicating it is pushing ahead
with preparations for a test launch, a South Korean news
agency reports.
North Korea has offered the United States and South Korea a
list of conditions for talks, including the lifting of U.N.
sanctions, but Washington says it is awaiting "clear signals"
that Pyongyang would halt its nuclear weapons activities.
North Korea has made new threats of military action as the
reclusive nation celebrated the anniversary of its founder's
birth, stoking tension on the peninsula with a new
"ultimatum" to South Korea in the stand-off over its nuclear
programme.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has stressed the United
States is willing to engage with North Korea as long as it
takes steps to give up nuclear weapons.
The United States says China has agreed to help rid North
Korea of its nuclear capability by peaceful means, but
Beijing made no specific commitment in public to pressure its
long-time ally to change its ways.
South Korea and the United States are on high alert for a
North Korean missile test-launch, as the isolated state
celebrates the rule of the Kim dynasty and appears to be
toning down rhetoric of impending war.
South Korea says there is a "very high" probability that
North Korea, after weeks of threats of war, would test-launch
a medium-range missile at any time as a show of strength.
North Korea has suspended its sole remaining major project
with the South, after weeks of threats against the United
States and South Korea, as Russian President Vladimir Putin
said any nuclear conflict could make Chernobyl look like a
fairy tale.
