TOKYO (AP) — North Korean officials denied that the country is preparing to test-launch a missile, a news report said Saturday, citing a South Korean official.
Visiting officials from the North told a South Korean lawmaker that concerns over Pyongyang’s possible missile test are “unfounded,” Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported from Seoul.
The report came as the United States and Japan jointly urged North Korea to suspend preparations for a test-launch of a long-range missile.
Speculation has been mounting that the North could abandon its self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile tests by launching a Taepodong-2, believed able to reach the United States with a light payload.
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It appears the situation is fluid. According to this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/world/asia/19korea.html?ei=5065&en=a9cf8a9a5a2863ad&ex=1151380800&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
the Koreans have completed fueling the Taepodong II missile. If that is true, we may be seeing a turning point for the Koreans.
As you may or may not know (and they elude to in the article) once a missle is fueled, it is usually a point of no return. It is a sign of imminent launch because it is dangerous, and costly to defuel the missle and if this launch takes place look for a change in focus of the International community.